


A Battle Worth Fighting

by LuciaWilt



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amputation, Blood and Injury, Blushing, Canon-Typical Violence, Confessions, Eventual Romance, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Marriage, Meet-Cute, More Pairings to Come - Freeform, Rating May Change, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-10-25 06:05:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10758252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciaWilt/pseuds/LuciaWilt
Summary: Alfonse almost regrets having all these warriors summoned.-----------Edit: I added chapter 12 which I forgot to post like an idiot. It should all be evened out now.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself that once they released my baby boy Ike and Soren that I would write something for this.

She was not exactly watching when a fighter came up behind her. The blade slicing down diagonally across her back was searing; worse than anything she had ever felt before. It was only compounded when a boot followed up that attack, stamping against the slice and sending her sprawling forwards. Already she knew that the white cloak the Askran’s had given her was ruined. The blood had to be covering her entire backside by this point. However, that could not be what she could think about at this point. Her assailant was still there, it was quite obvious. So right as she was turning about, wincing when the gash on her back brushed against the rocky ground, the person was raising their weapon high in the air to deliver the finishing blow. Alas, Robin had given her some tips on a tome but she was far from proficient at it; even going so far as to say her mastery was below elementary, so throwing up a spell was out of the question. All she could do was raise her arms in a pathetic attempt to shield herself. In those moments she waited for the blow to land, but nothing came. No, when she opened her eyes, someone had come to her rescue. It took another few moments until she realized that Alfonse was blocking the sword of her attacker. With one more push and a quick slash, the man collapsed and Alfonse was left breathing just a little heavy. 

It did not take long for him to turn around and crouch beside her. _____’s eyes looked about to see that there was no more enemies left on the field and really she had just let her guard down. But hey! You can’t blame her! It wasn’t like she had grown up on a battlefield. She had been sucked through this portal into this world. One second she was in her home studying for her finals and the next she had been spit out into the courtyard of some medieval looking castle. “Are you alright?” Alfonse’s panicked voice broke her out of her thoughts. Alright? Why would she not be-.

Oh.

Oh yeah.

All of that which had just transpired was such an energy rush that she had forgotten the horrible injury on her back. That, in fact, came rushing back so fast that the pain hit her like a truck. She doubled over, reaching around to finger at the gash while tears slipped out of her eyes. Once again, it wasn’t like she had ever been on a battlefield in her life. This was all so new, but she wanted to help. This fight was supposed to be simple. That was one thing she was actually good at. Philosophy, statistics, strategy; it was something that just clicked with her. Fighting, not so much. 

“Shit.” She whispered under her breath in between a broken sob. Alfonse felt his stomach drop when he leaned over her back and saw the mass of blood that was spilling from her wound. 

“Maria!” The small girl’s head whipped around at Alfonse shout. While _____ was the official tactician of their army, as well as their summoner, Alfonse was still the commander. His orders were law. Therefore the red head rushed over to her leader. When she herself spotted the bleeding woman, Maria cracked into a flurry of movements, pulling out her staff and getting to work. She also had some bandages which she explained would help with the process. Alfonse, to his chagrin, helped Maria remove _____’s cloak, leaving her in only a tank top which Maria moved off of her as well. Alfonse’s face was as red as a tomato when he spotted his summoners undergarments. Those modern pieces of clothing were too scandalous.

While Maria was working on her, Chrom, Nino, Ryoma, and Hinoka all ran over. They were other units that _____ brought along. Amongst the strongest fighters that she had summoned during her time here, they all wore worried looks on their faces as they spotted the giant sword wound on her back. Hinoka and Nino both knelt down as well; Alfonse taking that as his que to stand beside the other men. “When did it happen?” Ryoma asked, hearing the three of them fuss over her. 

“Just when we were finishing fighting. The guy got a drop on her.” Alfonse said with a bite to his voice. Both Chrom and Ryoma looked over to the person that Alfonse was motioning to. 

“Poor thing. Being someone that is not a warrior from birth and taking a hit like that, I’m surprised that she has not passed out yet.” Chrom whispered under his breath. Yet it seemed as though it was not quiet enough for _____ shakily stood with Hinoka and Nino’s help, Maria even pitching in a bit. 

Alfonse felt sick to his stomach. She was pale and sweating, obviously still in pain. He just wanted to get her to the castle to rest. “Now don’t count me out quite yet Exalt. I’m stronger than that.” And there it was again. That passion and fierce fight that made Alfonse’s heart flutter. He felt his chest warm with pride at her perseverance. When he turned towards Chrom, he saw a flush on the Exalt’s face which made Alfonse frown. Well he did not like that. 

“Alright alright. That is enough bravado from you. We need to get you back to the castle.” Maria cut in much to Alfonse’s delight. The Askran Royal did not want Chrom and _____ interacting any more that day if it meant she was going to make the Exalt blush. The jealousy biting at Alfonse was nearly palpable in the air. Maria looked over to the men before glancing towards Hinoka. Alfonse knew what she was doing. She was parsing out details in her head. How could they get their summoner back to the castle fastest, but also keeping her the healthiest? While asking one of the men to carry her would keep the probability of her wound opening up down, getting Hinoka to fly her back would be the fastest; and really probably smoothest route. Alfonse did not mind that much. Hinoka was a strong warrior and would keep her safe while heading back. So with a quick ‘I’ll be back as soon as possible’, Hinoka’s steed took off. 

“You wear your heart on your sleeve Prince Alfonse.” Ryoma said as they were starting their way back. Nino was humming to herself to the other side of the Hoshidan prince. When he said that, she popped her green head of hair around him. 

“He is right you know. The big googly eyes you give her are so sweet.” 

“Excuse me?” Alfonse was flabbergasted as a deep blush formed over his face. This time it was Chrom that pipped in.

“Ah I remember that. It was how I acted when I met Robin. Really the two of you remind me of the two of us.” It was obvious that the Exalt was thinking of memories that were near to his heart as he pondered on the similarities of their relationships. 

“Ugh!” Alfonse did not know what to say for he knew that they were right. Their words were picking at him, breaking cracks in his armor. He knew that he was attracted to _____ when she first appeared in their castle. There was no getting around it that she was very attractive. But that did not exactly mean he wanted to think about how her beauty was not just physical but mental as well. So he stormed forwards and walked a couple of yards a head of all of them. Behind him, he could quite clearly hear them laughing amongst themselves. 

Last but not least it was Maria that spoke up. “It is very beautiful Nino. That relationship; it reminds me of Lord Marth and his wife Caeda.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cain acts like a puppy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has a suggestion for the next character I can shoe horn in, just shoot me a comment. I would like to try and do people that I have summoned, but its alright if I don't have them haha. It can be male or female.

When Hinoka and _____ got back to the castle, the princess’s steed landed gently in the court yard where the tactician had first shown up. Right as the hooves clacked lightly against the ground, Lissa and Robin both came rushing out from the garden. It seemed as though they had just been out there speaking with one another. “Oh no!” Robin exclaimed at the sight of _____ hanging onto Hinoka’s back. “What in the world happened?” Robin knew that her husband had become close friends with the strange woman, and stars, so had she. Perhaps it was because Robin was reminded of herself when she saw _____. To see her now in so much pain hurt her. 

“I’m glad the two of you are here. I would not have been able to carry her myself.” Hinoka said as she maneuvered off of the animal, leaving the wounded woman there for a moment. Robin helped Hinoka get the woman down. “She was attacked from behind,” She started as Lissa turned and rushed off, presumably going to set up the room to work on healing her. “Commander Alfonse was able to protect her for the most part, but that was after she got hit.” Robin frowned. That was horrible. 

“I did try to use my tome.” _____’s feeble voice sounded between the two other women. It caused them to glance down and see that she was barely touching said tome tucked away in her belt. That caused a swell of pride to form in Robin’s chest. 

“Well we will have to work on that then won’t we? But after you get healed up.” The three crossed the threshold of the back entrance to the castle. Inside, it was slow going, helping the feebly hoping woman along. However they did not get far before the sound of clunking and clinking armor stopped them. 

When they looked up, they spotted the Bull himself. “What in Naga’s name?” The fire headed Cain rushed towards them. Everyone that had been summoned knew that he had taken a liking to said injured tactician. Well, many enjoyed her company. With how kind hearted and intelligent she was, it was hard not to. Cain had just fallen a little harder than everyone. So he actually walked over and held her up by himself. Hinoka was not complaining too much. Cain was a strong man. He would be able to help take her up to the room. However, she looked over to Robin and saw the mage frown. That, she would have to ask about later. At the moment, _____ needed to get to her room. So while walking up, having Cain carry the injured warrior, Hinoka explained the details. It was obvious that Cain was upset with what transpired. 

“If only I was there. If only you had stayed back.” Cain whispered under his breath as they climbed up the last few steps to the area with her quarters. Once again she was not as out as everyone seemed to think for she shifted a bit in his arms, only causing him to tighten his grip as they turned into her room where Lissa was waiting. 

“Now hush Cain,” _____ said as the red head lowered her onto the bed where Lissa pointed to. At first she laid down on her back which then had her moaning in pain. However Lissa was quick to maneuver her so she was lying with her back facing the group of people. “You are insulting me like that.” It was meant to be a joke, something really that would be funny where she was from; but it just sent Cain into a tizzy. He rushed around the bed, his red armor making a racket while Hinoka left and Robin and Lissa started to look at the wound. 

“I would never even dream of being rude to you.” The paladin practically sobbed while kneeling beside the bed. Cain, ever the gentleman, gripped one of _____’s clammy hands. His other reached out and brushed her sweat covered hair from her pale face. It felt so good to her. Everything around her was cool which she suspected was Lissa’s doing. What really surprised her though was that Cain’s own hands were cool. Maybe it is the gloves, _____ thought to herself as she laughed at Cain’s misery. Definitely something that is particular to her own world. Either way, it was nice to have Cain speaking to her as Lissa worked on her back. Robin said her quick goodbyes and left, leaving the three of them in there. When Lissa was finally done, the sun had started to set through the window. Something that _____ loved about this world was that the castles rooms, or at least most of them, did not have glass over their windows. Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna all told her that it was practically summer year round in Askr. The coldest it got was probably around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Lissa walked around the bed and stood to the side of Cain. She got the man to help _____ sit up, allowing the red head to actually sit down beside the tactician to keep her up while she spoke. “Luckily Maria got to you soon enough. She was able to heal most of it, but it was a pretty deep injury. You will be out of commission for a while, at least for going on the battlefield.” Well that sucks, she thought to herself. She enjoyed fighting out there with everyone else. It was like she was a part of the cause. Even though Alfonse always told her that he would just lock her in the castle to keep her safe, she just shrugged him off with a smile. It was not like he would actually do it. It seemed as though Cain was happy about that because his arm around her shoulder tightened just a bit. “However, Prince Alfonse and Commander Anna can still speak with you about the plans. You will also still be able to summon, but not nearly as much as you used to be able to. Maybe one a week, if that.” Now that _____ did not mind. Summoning was absolutely exhausting. So with a quick nod and another goodbye, Lissa left the two in there together. 

Cain continued to sit there, but now he had calmed down quite a bit. He was speaking in a low tone, asking about her and the world she came from. It was nice. So many people here were genuinely interested in what she had to say; in her life story. So she shared those things with him while leaning into his chest. Everything was still so cool which felt good. With the injury, her body temperature had spiked. Lissa suggested that it was probably from the adrenaline as well as the blood loss, something that occurred often with mages. That made _____ happy. She wanted to be in that category, of a mage. Of course she would have to get more practice in, but in a sick sort of way she was glad she had gotten injured. She would not have gotten those words from Lissa otherwise. 

While the two of them spoke, curled up on the bed together in the light of the moon, Cain held her slowly drying hand in his. Her body stopped sweating which was nice. While he held her hand though, he took his own gloves off. After, Cain began to trace the lines on her palm. “You know, you can read your palms to tell your future.” He hummed, continuing the tracing. Oh how her eyelids started to grow heavy. Everything was so calm. When Cain wanted to be, he could be a gentle force; not the angry bull he was named after. 

“I do not follow missy.” 

“The lines,” Ignoring the nickname, ______ grabbed his hand and flipped it over to the palm was facing up. She started to copy his movements and pointed out the different titles for each wrinkle in his hand. “Like the love line and the heart line.” _____ was going to continue but the gentle knock at her door caused the two of them to look up. In walked Alfonse with a candle holder in his hand, the light illuminating his handsome face. Cain was ignorant to the look of jealousy that washed over Alfonse quickly, but _____ was not. She caught it, even though it had only been there for a brief second. Either way, Cain stood and walked around. 

“Thank you so much for protecting her today your highness.” Alfonse did not say much in response, just a simple mumble that _____ was too far away to hear. Cain was quick to leave though. With a goodbye, Alfonse and his summoner were left in the room together. 

“I am so glad that you are alright.” It was the first thing he said to her as he pulled over a chair. His decorum, obviously from being a prince, was a little higher than Cain’s. _____ did not care though. In her world, all this medieval manner’s nonsense was so out of date. That was why she had no problem cuddling up with Cain as she had. Obviously though, Alfonse was not going to just invite himself to sit beside her in such a manner; even though he really wanted to. 

“All because of you. You saved my life Alfonse.” However he was seated close enough for her to reach out and take one of his hands. He sat the candle holder down on the bed side table and laid his other hand over hers. There it is, _____ thought, taking in the warm smile that spread across his face. He had been so cold upon seeing Cain; she disliked when he was like that. His happiness was pure and good and she wanted more. It made her feel so warm. 

“I would have fought off an army of enemies for you.” 

…

…

…

Oh.

A dark blush bloomed across her face. To her shock, Alfonse did not mirror the flush. He was serious. The pure smile that was still stuck on his stupid face did not help. He simply held her hand tighter in his. Instead of speak anymore, they simply enjoyed each other’s silence; the company something that both yearned for and found in one another. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which split timelines exist...perhaps...maybe...It is still up in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes about the ages at the bottom. And I kind of switched some things up a bit. While this is before the "spring" event, there is a switch in the timeline that you will understand at the end haha

Elise. Elise was the name of the girl that she had summoned a few days back. A beautiful young woman, long blond hair and a black armored outfit, she was a cleric. Anna explained that it was good, that they could never have enough clerics. So just like everyone that had come before her, _____ started to talk with the young woman, grow close. She found out her background and her history. 

Elise was a princess of a kingdom called Nohr. It was actually a neighboring kingdom to Hoshido where Ryouma ruled and Hinoka was a princess. She found that incredibly interesting. So they were all from the same world. _____ knew that Chrom and a couple of the others were from the same world as well. It seemed as though when she pulled people it would often end up like that. Either way, Elise was a wonderful young girl. She was kind and found herself glued to _____’s hip. Lots of the medics actually ended up like that. “So what is the rest of your family like?” She asked Elise as they walked towards the summoning grounds. Her wound was almost completely healed and Anna told her that she needed a new hero so here she was. 

The question, though, made Elise’s eyes nearly turn into hearts. “Oh my sweet family. I love them all so much.” And there she went. Off and off she spoke of her family; her two brothers and her two sisters. They all sounded like valiant people. 

“So your brother is the king? That is incredible.” _____ commented as they walked into the summoning temple. She reached into her cloak and pulled out some of the jewels that she then pressed into the particular openings. Once that was done, she started back a bit with her hand pushing Elise along with her. The blonde’s eyes went wide as the summoner put her hands out, palms facing the ground. A bright white light echoed around the room with such frequency that Elise actually had to shut her eyes and look away. Magic was a beautiful thing. But it could also be dangerous. The summoning spell that she was randomly really good at, apparently the only one that could pull it off in the kingdom, was burning bright. The first couple of times she had actually burned her skin doing it. That had not gone over well with Alfonse or Sharena. 

“Amazing!” Elise’s squeak was quiet behind her as the light started to dim. It grew red for a moment before disappearing. Then the temple went rather dark as though it were twilight. When the light started to grow again, and both of them could even think about what was going on, _____ could hear the sound of hooves against the tile of the temple. She blinked hard, regaining her vision; only to be covered in the shadow of a giant black steed. As her vision slowly returned, she started to take in more and more of the animal. It was far bigger than she first realized, which did not help her small fear of giant animals. It was covered in thick black armor with golden trimming. Up and up and up and UP, _____ finally realized that she in fact did not just summon a war horse, but someone upon it. How embarrassing would that have been if I came back with just a giant horse, she snorted to herself as she stood. “Brother!” Elise’s exclamation caused her to turn. The man that had been on the horse had dismounted and collected an ecstatic Elise into his arms. 

“Oh. The king?” _____ wondered. He was still blocked by the horse. But when he turned to face her, she pulled out her tome, getting into a defensive position. “Xander!” It was a shout. Oh no. This was not good. She was not a fighter. Elise could fight, but barely. She had not had as much practice as everyone else. While the summoner had been injured, she had been practicing her tome with Robin and had gotten noticeably better, but that was not saying much. If it got too bad, she would have to take Elise’s staff and just beat Xander with it. That was one good thing she guessed, being as tall as she was. At 5’10”, she was taller than most of the men she had actually summoned. But Xander, the “prince” that Veronica had taken to her side, was different. Already tall, his armor made him look HUGE. “Elise get back!” The younger blonde did step back for a moment, looking between the summoner and her older brother. Xander looked absolutely perplexed by it all. Actually, there was something off. _____ could feel it. But it had to be a trick by Veronica. 

“What do you mean? It’s just my brother.” Elise said. But ____ was on edge. She reached out and was able to grab the young girls hand to pull her away, all the while grabbing the staff. Becoming the summoner was amazing, making friends and family with all these people. But something was exchanged. Each time she summoned someone, it was like she was making a pact with them. She would protect them with her life. 

“I won’t let anyone hurt you Elise. Stay behind me.” If she died here then so be it. Her adrenaline kicked as she lifted up the staff like a giant baseball bat. With a swing as hard as she could muster, _____ brought the thing around and aimed it towards Xander. However he was deceptively agile for a man of his size. Fleet footed he dodged each swing. It probably didn’t help that half the time she had her eyes closed in fear and in anger, but that was beside the point.

“I am not your enemy madam. Cease this fighting!”

“_____! Stop that!” But she did not. Well, she didn’t until to her surprise, she got a good hit right onto his head. It caused the larger man to stumble away in pain, gripping his blond locks. That was when everything screeched to a halt. While the Xander that her army fought did go with Veronica on his own volition, he was still under a bit of her spell; had some of her magic on him. Nothing dark flashed over this man in front of her. 

This was not the Xander that she had met on the battlefield that had sneered at her so violently while swinging his giant blade. 

“Oh fuck!” ____ shouted as she rushed over to him. He had sat down with the blood dripping between his fingers. Elise ran over as well, gently taking the staff from _____’s white knuckled grip. “Of fuck fuck fuck.” The fretting started. Like a shaking leaf, her hand reached over to his gloved one that was holding his wound. Elise watched silently. “Oh fuck.”

“Your mouth is as mean as your swing.” 

Oh thank god he was cracking jokes. _____ felt her stomach lighten at that. At least he was not pissed or unconscious. She pulled away his hand and looked at the wound, forgetting that his palm was in hers. The wound, however, was not so good.

Elise looked over at it as well and flinched. “He is not wrong.” With the staff turned club, Elise got to work on healing the wound. All the while _____ watched on with tense shoulders. What had she done? She had just gone berserk trying to protect Elise. It was like Elise was her own little sister. 

“It is not as bad as it looks. Head wounds always bleed more than they let on.” Xander said, breaking her out of her thoughts. When she realized that she was still holding his bloodied hand, she let go in a tizzy, a deep blush forming over her face. It was not so good though. His blood had dried on her bare hands. Alas that was the only way you could summon though; without gloves that is. 

“Still I am sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Elise hummed while standing, the glow from her staff fading in the shadow of the temple. Light from the afternoon sun was pooling around the front entry way. Well, she had her new warrior, even though it had once been her enemy. Multiple timelines? It had to be something like that. She would discuss it further when she got back to the castle. Either way, she stood along with Elise then turned to help Xander up. Luckily she had not given him a concussion for he was able to do most of the work on getting up. It was a good thing considering that when she put her hand out to help him, his strength almost pulled her down. It was not like she was weak. He was just that big.

“It was interesting. Ever since I have become king no one spars with me,” He turned towards her with a smile that horribly disarming. “I enjoyed it. Alas, I do not know where I am now though.” This would be an interesting conversation. Elise grabbed a hold of his arm. 

“Oh _____ can tell you while we walk back. I don’t know if you will even believe it!” 

_____ was still unsure that he would even want to after clocking him in the head with a healing staff. That was beside the point though. She had a mission and she was going to do it. So Xander helped Elise onto his giant war horse while the two of them walked; _____ explaining what was happening as they went. She was just nervous as to how Sharena, Alfonse, and Anna would react to her bringing in their “biggest enemy”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really wanted to get some ages in here so here goes nothing.
> 
> Summoner-Around 20-21  
> Alfonse- 20-21  
> Sharena- 16-17  
> Anna- ? (an enigma. I like the mystery considering she has been in every FE game except gaiden)  
> Maria- 12  
> Ryouma- 26-27  
> Hinoka- 21  
> Cain- 22  
> Elise-13  
> Xander- 26-27  
> Henry-18  
> Felicia-19  
> Laslow-20  
> Serra- 16  
> Lissa-15  
> Chrom-21 (I know he was officially 19 at the beginning of the game, but this is after he becomes Exalt; and really after some more time has past)  
> Robin-20


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander is in the market for a new adviser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't even ask me about the subjects i chose. like, philosophy is kind of the only thing close to what I am studying right now. astronomy and biology though, like not even close (though I do love astronomy). And this was supposed to be a alfonse centric fic DX. What happened? Don't worry he is still a MAJOR part of this, but Xander is just controlling my attention right now haha. And while i do not study biology or astronomy, i do study sociology and religion. back during that time, it is true that you would not be going to any sort of school like institution unless you were at some sort of monastery or a royal/ wealthy individual. That is why Xander is so amazed.

“So your world does not have war?” Xander had glued himself to her side so hard she doubted she could ever get him off. Well, not that she minded. He was handsome and kind and she did have that connection with him as well. Perhaps it just threw her off that he just shrugged off the injury she gave him. The kindness she was given was odd. 

“Not have wars? Oh no we do. However our technology has advanced enough that we do not have to relay fight on the front lines any longer. The last time we did so was about 80 years ago, or at least the biggest conflict we have fought in. There were casualties ranging up to almost 80 million. And a good chunk of those were civilians.” It was definitely odd having such a grim conversation on such a beautiful day in the garden. But he had asked so she answered. 

“That is just horrible.”

“Yeah. It was mainly because of the weapons. It was the introduction of things like poison gas and advanced machine guns. Even tanks.”

“Guns?” Oh yeah. He wouldn’t know what those were. How to explain it where he would understand though? Half the time she barely even knew a thing about guns.

“Well it is similar to a bow and arrow,” That wasn’t exactly wrong in his context. A bow and arrow was the closest thing to a gun. Motioning with her hands, “They vary in size quite a bit. It can go from this big,” She motioned for a hand gun. “To this big.” And then she brought it out to a rifle. “Then the ammo which would be the arrow, varies in size with the gun. It is made with different types of metals and is pointed at the end. The noise that comes out of it is like a mini sonic boom; meaning that it is going faster than sound.” Xander was absolutely amazed. 

The two of them were standing underneath the shade of the willow tree as the wind blew gently around them. “You are quite knowledgeable about all of this.”

“Oh yes. Well I go to college.” He was silent. While at the castle, the heroes were able to dress in casual clothing. The King looked good in it; the white tunic, dark blue vest, and dark black pants. He made it look like a three piece suit. That cute confused look gave her pause as well. 

“College. Like a university.”

“Do you mean a scholar at a monastery?” Of course. She had to remind herself that this was pretty much the Middle Ages, a little past if that. Yes there was magic, but it was still closer to the 1400’s and 1500’s. If someone was going to have an education, they would either be in a monastery or royal. 

“Drop the religion and you got your answer.” Amazement crossed his features. 

“So there is a place where people just go to learn.”

“Yeah. I guess you can say that it is a benefit of having technology to fight your wars. We are able to go to school as we please.” The sound of some of the other people walking out into the garden caused them to look back. When she turned, that smile on his face made her blush. 

“What are you studying miss scholar?” Oh nicknames now? That made butterflies take off. Xander also took a step closer so they were standing a bit tighter.

“Astronomy and philosophy with a minor in biology.” There was another flash of confusion that passed. Oh yeah. He wouldn’t know really any of that. While there may be people studying those things in his country, they would not have a word for it. “The sciences,” _____ pointed upwards. “The sciences of the sky.” Keep it simple. “The sciences of the mind.” She pointed to her head. All the while Xander’s eyes never left hers. He even watched as she knelt into the grass beneath them. “And the sciences of the natural world.” There was a part of her that hoped Xander had never looked so surprised before. He looked absolutely stunned and really impressed as well. As Peri walked over to them, Xander finally spoke. 

“It would be a blessing to have someone as intelligent as you as an adviser on my court.” _____ felt as though if she blushed any harder she would pass out. Thankfully Peri came up to them. In the past couple of days she found out that the blue haired woman was one of Xander’s retainers. 

“My lord, your sister wishes to speak with you.” She said. Xander looked at _____ out of the corner of his eye, obviously looking as though he did not want to leave her. But his sister took precedent. So with a few goodbyes and “I’ll speak with you later”’s, Xander and Peri wondered off. She decided to stay out in the garden, though she wondered as to if that was a good idea. Serra strolled over to her, Sharena in tow.

“You are looking flushed…like lovey dovey flushed.”

“What?” _____ jumped with wide eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?” Sharena smiled and grabbed her arm.

“Like you were really enjoying who you were just speaking to.” _____ knew that if would be impossible to shrug them off, so she tried to change the subject instead. 

“Oh I forgot to ask you. When is the spring festival?” While Sharena took the bait, Serra looked skeptical. 

“Oh are you excited!? I am as well. It is actually in about a week.”

“That is a lot sooner than I thought it would be.” But then again, she had rarely gone outside of the castle walls for the last week. Alfonse was hesitant to let her go and Xander took up most of her time. So here she was, actually happy to get them away from the subject of her “love life”, stating it how they would. 

“Yeah. Actually, I was going to get all the girls together; get everyone ready. The outfits can be quite elaborate.” 

Well. That did not sound too bad. It would get her mind off of summoning and tactics. And well, Alfonse’s attitude as of late and Xander’s attachment. With a nod, she followed the two other women back into the castle. 

~’~

The afternoon before the festival, _____ found herself walking about right outside of the castle walls. There was a hill that you could go up onto to see the perfect view of the sunset. She had often gone out there before her injury; and since she was completely healed, she decided it was time to go out. While Alfonse had told her that she needed to be checked on again by Lissa or one of the other healers, _____ simply snuck out instead. She really did not want to bother any of them. 

So here she was; lying in the soft grass beneath the tree at the top of the hill. Hidden behind the tree so no one would be able to see her from the castle, it was the perfect spot to read some of the tomes that Robin gave to her. Over the time that had been relatively peaceful with her out of commission for the battlefield, _____ had actually gotten extremely proficient with a tome. Hell, she would say she got good enough to go on the front line. She was athletic enough; more so than even Robin and Tharja from what she had seen. Next time, the summoner told herself as she started to practice. They were just small attacks that came from her book though. The arches of lightening shot from her fingertips. How wonderful it was. Like fireflies fluttering about, the light looked almost neon yellow in the setting sun. 

New to magic, she still did not quite grasp the concept of depleting her energy; even though that should be rather obvious to her considering she is a biology student. Either way, _____’s eyes slid shut, her head tilting back against the bark of the wood. Sitting at the base of the tree and dozing off to sleep was like a storybook moment; one that she was not awake for. It especially seemed like some sort of romantic fable when Xander himself walked out and up the hill. His eyes widened some when he realized that she was in fact asleep.

Like this, he could really see her age. She looked young and vulnerable. Hearing from Elise and some of the friends his little sister had made, the summoner was only 21. To him, the age difference was not grand considering his mother had married his father far younger. However, there was something different. Perhaps it was the delicacy she tried to cover with that intelligence. While she did a good job at it, considering she was probably brighter than himself, it did not cover the fact that she was still just a young woman who had been thrown into a world embroiled in war. Like she said, her own world was one that rarely fought on the front lines. She had probably never seen combat in her life.

He had not been joking a week ago though. He would love to have her as an adviser. The way she spoke with such eloquence about technology that seemed like a dream to him. The way she worded it sounded like something he could really obtain though. She made it seem like such a possibility. Xander knelt down so he was beside her. Staring, he noted all these features about her face that he had not seen before. The slope of her nose, the rise of her cheekbones, her thick eyelashes and the curve of her lips. Without thinking, he reached up and brushed some of her hair out of her face that had fallen. He found himself doing that for longer than he thought he would. The sun was about to hit the horizon line. Within five minutes it would be gone, the night taking its place. 

Then something else happened that was beyond his control. She seemed to do that to him, control him like some sort of siren. He knew it was because of her intelligence. While dozens of men came and went across his path as a king, none were as intelligent and strong willed as her. The time he had spent with her, right by her side, he had become more and more attached. Xander did not care though.

Without a second thought, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss upon her lips as though she were sleeping beauty. Well, she is, he thought with a quite chuckle. When he pulled away, her eyes were still closed, but they were moving underneath the delicate skin. For a few more moments where he just caressed her face, she shuffled and moaned with displeasure of being woken up. When she finally awoke, her eyes adjusted to the “sudden” loss of light. 

“Xander?”

“Yes it is me.” He felt her face heat up underneath his fingers, obviously aware now of how close he was. That prompted him to help her up, the two of them standing under the tree. “I saw you sleeping out here. You know you will catch a cold.”

“Ah. Well I was not sleeping,” _____ lifted her tomb. “I was practicing and then just exhausted myself.” 

“Oh?” He muttered while stepping closer. She did not move back. _____ knew what he was doing. She also knew that she was fine with it. While studying, she had also been thinking about Xander. So she had feelings for him. She definitely did. If he had feelings for her, who was she to deny him in return? For her entire life she had been controlled, had put up walls to keep others out. It was finally time to let loose. If that meant being kissed by a handsome king, then so be it. So with another second that passed between them, Xander’s lips were then upon hers. It was a deep kiss, sensual in nature. His large hands reached up and cupped the side of her neck before reaching up further and gripping her hair. One of them trailed away and wrapped around the summoner’s waist. All the while, her own arms flew up around his shoulders and held him close as the exchanged their passionate embrace. 

When he pulled away, she was slightly out of breath; Xander in the same state. However she did tilt her head to the side and allow him to kiss on her neck. It sucked, though, that even as his lips moved along her skin, her mind switched for a moment to Alfonse. 

Shit. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Spring Festival starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get yourself together Xander! You are a grown man. And the next two or so chapters will be the spring festival. 
> 
> The inspiration for the dress she is wearing-  
> http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/jenny-yoo-cassie-flutter-sleeve-surplice-gown/4559553?origin=coordinating-4559553-0-1-PDP_1-recbot-frequently_viewed_v3_2&recs_placement=PDP_1&recs_strategy=frequently_viewed_v3_2&recs_source=recbot&recs_page_type=product

Sharena was so excited. The spring festival was her favorite event every year already. However, this year was special. This year she would be able to spend it with all of her new friends; all these incredibly strong warriors that she had been fighting side by side with. This was like a dream come true. And now she was able to get everyone ready. She had gone around early, EARLY, that morning gathering all the ladies up. Even though they were slogging and groaning at being woken up so early, she happily guided them to her own quarters. There, she got them all started on getting ready for the festival.

“And why before the sun has even risen Miss Sharena?” Nino’s soft little voice came from beside Lachesis, a rather beautiful young blonde healer. _____ enjoyed her company. For a royal girl such as herself, Lachesis was actually rather down to earth. 

“Because it’s a special day!” Even though Sharena looked excited, _____ could read the sadness in her voice. While she was sure that Sharena had friends within the castle, she doubted that there were any more than that. The summoner was sure that this was a fist for the young teen. This was an exciting time in her life, having all these other females and not just her brother and her servants. Either way, Anna actually looked just as excited because she guided some of them over to one area while Sharena helped the others. _____ and Robin ended up having followed Sharena. 

“So how has Alfonse been?” Robin asked out of the blue. Sharena was looking through all the clothing she had bought in all different sizes the previous day for everyone. The summoner blinked at the odd question.

“Hm? Well he has been good. He has been really finicky as of late actually.”

“It is because of your injury. He has been worried about you. It is the same thing Chrom would always do when I got hurt.” They laughed. When the Askr siblings started this entire endeavor, _____ summoned Robin first and then her husband. Summoning Chrom had gotten a laugh out of everyone for Alfonse and the Exalt looked to be twins. It had been hilarious to all involved. 

But worried about her? Was he? Or was he just being a mother hen? It seemed like that to her. While she cared deeply for Alfonse, the way he had been acting as of late had just bugged her. Perhaps it was because she had been spending so much time with Xander who treated her as an equal. Not that Alfonse didn’t. It was just perhaps Robin really was right. Alfonse just wanted her safe and sound. Ugh I don’t want to think about this right now, she thought to herself as she stood. The face that Robin made behind her went unseen, the anxiety and the exhaustion of her own. No matter. Instead the summoner walked over to Sharena and Nino. The two were looking through the clothing. Tharja was standing beside them as well. As dark mages went, Tharja was intriguing. While she had a stronger connection with healers than other warriors, _____ felt the same way towards Tharja; that weird, incredibly strong need to protect her and become friends with her. Tharja seemed to return the feelings because Robin explained to _____ the black haired woman acted the same way towards her; the stalking and all of that. 

“Oh this would look amazing on you!” Nino exclaimed over the quiet voices of everyone around her. The young girl had turned and was holding up a dress towards the summoner. It was an off white thing that reminded her quite a bit of Lissa’s clothing. However this one was not nearly as “fluffy”. It looked to be just one layer. A soft rose pattern covered the material which almost made it look pink. When she held it up to herself, the hem on the bottom reached her feet. There were thin straps at the top but also a thin material on the upper arm that constituted as sleeves as well. She was immediately in love with it.

“Good choice Nino.” Tharja’s whisper came from behind _____ which caused her to yelp and jump. For some reason she could really just not imagine Tharja at a spring festival. However, soon enough, they all had chosen different gowns; varying in material, length, and color. Though they were all pastels, much to Tharja’s chagrin. _____ thought she looked beautiful in it though. Tharja’s skin tone did wonders with the soft material. Not to mention Tharja had a beautiful body. So when they all wondered out, chatting happily about the day to come, it was already sunny; probably around 8 o’clock. Sharena and Serra had attached themselves to _____ as per usual. 

“This is going to be such a good day!”

~’~

Just like Sharena had been talking about, the festival was stunning. All the ladies had walked out of the castle walls and it was already in full swing. The citizens of the town were running about, enjoying the festivities. _____ could see some of the heroes she had summoned running around as well. Henry was excitedly chirping about this and that. Even Chrom looked like a child. The world that _____ had come from, or at least the country she lived in, rarely had things like this so it was all brand new. Sharena and Serra guided her about; feeding her this and that and pointing out different things. It was all so amazing and new. The blonde princess even ended up putting a crown of flowers upon _____’s head. 

She felt like a young girl again.

It was the happiest she had been in years.

And that joy only compounded on itself when she turned at one point near the main city garden area. Xander looked just as handsome as he always did. He was looking out over the lake, his back towards her as she shuffled up to him. With Sharena having bought an extra flower crown, the summoner knew exactly what to do. So when she was close enough, she placed the wreath of flowers upon the older man’s head. It caused him to jump for a moment, but when he turned and saw that it was her he smiled. Actually he blushed when he caught sight of what she was wearing.

“You look absolutely beautiful.” He muttered under his breath as he grabbed her hands, spinning her around so he could see her from every angle. Her tinkling laughter sounded like bells. 

“Ah. I guess I am just enjoying the festival so much! We do not have many where I am from. Perhaps my happiness is affecting my appearance.” She laughed while he pulled her a little closer, the two of them walking over to the water’s edge. Xander watched as she slipped her shoes off and walked into the water. The lake was crystal clear with a sandy bottom that allowed such an activity. While she was in there, she had to lift her dresses skirt up some so it would not get wet itself. 

“You would love our spring festival. While my country is mainly snowy, it does warm up some during this time of year. I would love to see you in Nohrian clothing.” 

“Oh?” She turned to look over her shoulder a bit, glancing at him before looking back down at the water’s surface. Small fish swam around her ankles. Their curious little glances caused her to laugh once again. “And what would my Nohrian outfit look like King Xander?” While she had an idea, she was not entirely sure. Both he and Elise, in their battle attire, were covered head to toe in back metal. The gold trimming and royal purples and magentas gave away their status in life. That was why she assumed the clothing of his people would be different. While probably still dark in tone, maybe black as well, she doubted those that were not royalty would be wearing purple. 

“Your clothing would be purple and black.” He said behind her without a hint of amusement or joke in his voice. The sun nearly blinded her in the reflection off the water as her eyes widened at his words. Purple and black? What in the world was he getting at? _____ spun around in a flurry. Her dress was forgotten and it splayed out around her in the water. While he was standing there with his hands tucked in his pockets, his eyes not leaving hers, she did not know he was nervous inside his heart.

Xander knew it was risky saying such a thing, so he quickly amended it. “The royal advisers on my court wear black with many of the wearing purple cloaks.” Oh, she thought to herself, feeling her heart rate slow down again. So her assumption had been wrong. While they were still “royalty” in some aspects, the advisers were not a part of the ruling family. 

Why did she feel oddly disappointed by his words though? 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, its a short chapter but a very important chapter. It's leading up to where everything is really going to kick off.

The day was beautiful. With each passing second for her, it got better and better. After spending some time by the lake, she and Xander returned to the city square where the main festival was taking place. While other citizens had to spend their money for the different items and foods that were being sold, heroes were exempt from said purchases. Trust the summoner, she wanted to pay for the things she looked at; but all the vendors refused to take her money. When she spoke to the others like Chrom and Eliwood, they ran into the same situation; the vendors just completely giving them things for free.

“Well I guess that is how it would turn out,” She thought to herself as she walked passed more people. Xander had wondered off with his sister, Laslow, and Peri; considering that was his family. So she wondered off as well. It was nice to see all the heroes roaming about, enjoying the small bit of peace they were afforded. It was peaceful.

So she spent her hours enjoying the happiness and laughter around her. Only when the sun started to set did she realize most of the children were gone, but the older kids and adults were left. Lanterns above the cobblestone pathways and different walkways were lit. Even though the kids started to leave, it actually got quieter than it had been. She did not mind. 

“There you are.” Xander’s deep voice came from behind her. She jumped some. In the middle of the square, standing beside the giant fountain with the red, orange, and pink light of the sunset reflecting off of them, she felt as though she were in a painting. However she felt like that often in this world. Everything looked more like it did in the hillside of 1700’s Italy and not, well, real life. 

“Here I am.” While she had kept her flower crown on, he had taken his off. When she glanced around him towards the small tea house she liked to frequent, she saw that Elise was happily wearing it. No matter, she told herself even though she knew that was partially false. While she was ok with Elise wearing it, she was still peeved that Xander himself had taken it off. “How has your day been?” _____ asked as the sun started to set further and further. The reds turned into purples, the pinks into blues. She watched him closely, noting when he would shuffle some or look away from her. 

“Rather busy actually,” Xander took a step forwards. “Peri and Elise were ecstatic about all the shopping, well, looking for clothing. The vendors would not take my money.” 

“Ah it was happening to you as well,” He looked over to her with confusion in his eyes. “Well that was going on to all the heroes. Perhaps it is because we are the “returning army”, protecting the homeland and all of that.” As something that Xander could understand, the older male nodded in agreement. 

“I can see that.” She herself shuffled some when he took another step forwards. Now they were nearly chest to chest. This close, she could see the little flecks of color in his eyes and the barely there freckles that crossed the bridge of his nose. If you were further away, like she had been in the past, you would have never even known the man had that on his face. As they stood in the silence, her looking away because his eyes were so intense, Xander quietly took a hold of her hand. That caused her to glance back. In her world, she was never really considered “feminine” in the classical sense. Often times she was off putting to others; especially with how tall she was. That was probably why she had become so happy here.

However with her hand in his, the script was flipped. No longer did she look like the strangely tall and closed off woman. Her hands looked almost dainty in his. She was no longer some tall girl that worked out or spent too much time in the astronomy building; she was a tactician, a summoner. She was desirable to a king, or at least that was what it felt like. So her eyes were glued there, to the connection they were making, as he pulled out something from his pocket. When she spotted exactly what it was, her breath caught in her throat. 

“Oh.” It was all she could say as he slipped a ring on her finger. While it was not on her ring finger, it was on her pointer finger on her left hand. The band was a bright silver. It shown nearly as bright as the stone in the light of the lanterns. And the stone. Gosh, her cheeks heated. It was an elegant cut of a… _____ could not exactly tell what stone that was. It looked like a pearl, but it was dark, nearly black with flecks of rainbow within it. Along the band on either side of the stone, down to about where her pointer met her middle finger, small clear diamond looking stones were inlaid on it. “I’m…I’m speechless.” And she really was. That was all she could actually say. What she wanted to say was numerous. Why? What? How? When? The list went on. 

“Laslow helped me find a blacksmith for the actual ring.” Xander started while still holding her hand. He gently rubbed his thumb over the silver band. She could not tell if it was white gold or actually silver. It did not really matter much at this point though. “Then Peri and Elise helped me find a jeweler in town.” So he had really thought about this. But there was a lingering question. 

“Why?” It came out before she could stop it. Finally she looked up as well. His eyes were boring into hers, locking and keeping her there. In the light of the lanterns, the reflection off the crystal clear fountain water as well, he looked almost like he was glowing. Little did she know he was thinking the same thing; but he attributed it to more than just the light. 

Deep breath, Xander thought to himself. “It’s a promise. I want you to promise me that you will be safe, and-“

“_____?” Alfonse’s voice cut Xander off. The prince was walking up from behind her which caused her to turn as well. Xander frowned when her hand slipped from his and she rushed over to the young prince. 

“Alfonse!” She shouted, jumping into his arms. “I haven’t seen you all day!” 

“Ah, yes Sharena has been keeping me rather busy. That and being next in line for the throne, I have had my duties to fill.” Oh, well that made sense. She smiled either way, happy that she could spend some time with him. “The fireworks will be going off soon,” Upon hearing that, she realized that the square had almost completely emptied out. The two of them had been so concentrated on each other that she had not even noticed. Well that was slightly embarrassing. Either way, she simply took Alfonse’s hands. 

“Well let us go then. Come on Xander!” She turned towards the now frowning man. While a part of her was glad to get out of the situation with Xander, too confused to label their relationship, she still felt bad. The weight of the ring on her finger and the unsaid words shared between the two lingered in the air. Either way, the blonde king nodded and followed after them; heading to the end of the festival and the end of the small amount of peace they were able to hold within their heart’s while Veronica was quiet. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connections in a line are connections together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will get back to the main story line next!

_”Where are we going to go next?” Corrin’s soft voice came from behind her and Azura. The silver haired woman was just like, nearly mute actually. She would only speak around her or Azura, no one else. Not that _____ actually minded. Corrin and Azura had gotten her through so much since landing in this world. If not for them she was sure she would have been dead. Azura turned from the table while ____ continued to look at the map. The singer watched without a word while Corrin walked over and stood on the other side of their tactician._

_”I’m sorry I do not have a more solid answer for you Corrin. I’m obviously not familiar with the region,” She tried to make a joke with it, but it seemed as though the people in this world really just did not understand her humor. It was hard to get used to, to say the least. Azura and Corrin only barely cracked a smile at it. When she went to speak again, to give her idea of a new route around the mountains to the south of where they were currently, a solider in the measly camp busted through the tent flap._

_”A large unit of the Nohrian army is right across the ridge!” That got the three woman to move. They rushed past him. Considering that _____ still wore her original clothing she came there in; jeans, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes, she was able to rush past the two barefoot woman much faster. Upon reaching the ridge and lying down, peering over it with hesitation, _____ let out a big sigh. Azura joined her noise of frustration when she and Corrin bracketed her on the ground once again. Just as the solider said, a large unit had made camp down the ridge from them. Luckily they were high enough out of the way that if they stayed quiet, they would not alert the unit to their presence. However, there were still many problems about all of it. They could not cook that night, they could not make any more noise, if a scout climbed up the rocks then their camp would 100% be spotted; and the list went on and on. They were lucky that there was quite a bit of brush where they were then so they were hidden as they were looking._

_I can’t believe they got there without me noticing; well, really anyone noticing.” She growled under her breath. Both women beside her nodded in unison, the leaves rustling a bit from the movement. They continued to watch the black armor clad army set up their camp. Both Azura and Corrin glanced at one another upon recognizing certain aspects of the unit. “What?_

_”This is the main imperial unit.” Azura said. And just after she finished her sentence, the mad king himself, Xander, walked through the camp. His black armor was glossier than anyone else’s. The gold trim looked piercingly bright even in the clouded weather. With the dark purple cape and his giant Siegfried by his side, he looked all the king his title entailed. However, something flicked inside of _____. After months of spending time with Azura and Corrin, training and fighting these battles to bring peace between Hoshido and Nohr, she snapped. Her patience was gone as she stood and ran off. Before running out of the camp and through the woods to start her decent down, she grabbed her spear that she had made passing through on of the villages. Being an athlete before coming to this world gave her many advantages, one being that hand to hand combat and fighting with weapons came very easily to her. Both Corrin and Azura were whisper shouting at her, telling her to not go, but she ignored them. IN place of turning back, _____ shuffled down the ridge side and snuck in through the camp. There were one or two close calls before she spotted Xander again. Without another thought she jumped out, into the pathway, Xander’s back facing her for he was walking the other way._

_”Xander of Nohr.” Oh he knew who she was. If not for the “rude” calling she gave him, he knew her voice from a few interactions before. Slowly he turned. He caught sight of her. One man tried to come up and grab her, but with a quick spin of her spear, he was thrown off towards the ground. When her eyes met Xander’s, there was an arch of fury that shot between them._

_“Ah, it is the little witch.” Xander muttered as he took a step back towards her. Even if it was just one step, it was terrifying her to her core. There was not getting around Xander’s physical size. Yes she herself was tall, but his black armor just made him look like a damn linebacker. However she had become talented at hiding her fear. She simply gripped the spear tighter. Both the men beside Xander, who she suspected were some sort of generals or something, flinched after noticing the change in the air. “And she got herself a little weapon. How quaint.” The last bit was a mutter, though obviously loud enough for her to hear, meant to be a critique. It only spurred her to start forwards. While it was just walking slowly, one step at a time, it was menacing in its own right. She knew that he could see the well of tears growing in her eyes out of fear and anger, she knew that he could see the shake in her body from the sight of Siegfried, but she did not care._

_“All of this fighting. All of this death. It could be preventable if you weren’t here! It could be prevented if you were just gone!” Her punctuation came in the form of her jabbing the spear forwards with new found fluency. He was talented though, and far faster than his size let on. Xander was able to side step. His glove covered hand gripped a part of the spear and yanked her forwards. Both men that had been standing beside him jumped out of the way at the appearance of a fight. Their thoughts were that if something did happen, there was an entire unit to step in. Xander was powerful though. One measly girl would not do anything._

_Something Xander had not been expecting was such a quick response. She swung the heavy spear like a malice this time. It banged against his side, actually sending him stumbling to the side. Her attacks were faster than he thought they would be at this point. While he knew that Corrin and Azura were training her, he did not know they had gotten so far along. Again and again she was able to land blows upon his chest or arms. Xander knew they would leave bruises in the morning which only made him frown. Now he had enough. On the next swing, he was able to grab the rod of the spear and yank it out of her hands, tossing it to the side. _____ was not having that though. She simply went in with limbs swinging. This time he saw her flinch each time she was able to land a hit. The metal of his armor was causing her bones to rattle inside of her arms; enough so that it made her teeth clench in pain. It was one kick after that she got onto his side, right where his ribs would have been not for the armor that caused her to scream in pain. Xander had actually been able to feel it; that was how much force was behind it. It stunned him enough that he could only blink for a moment as she stumbled away from him. Now tears were really dripping from her eyes. The anger and frustration had bubbled over with the shattered shin bone in her leg. _____ actually fell over and cried into the dirt as blood seeped into her jeans._

_Xander took that as his opportunity to walk over and stand over her prone form, watching her cry in the dirt. “I really don’t know if I should just kill you now or take you with me. You have been such a thorn in my side._

Reality slammed into her like a truck as she shot up in her bed, sweat drenching her body. She had kicked off all of her blankets in the middle of the night. It was not even light out yet as she glanced out the large window in her even larger room in the castle. “Shit.” She breathed out as she used her sleeping shirt to clean the sweat off of her face. I had been like this ever since she summoned Azura and Corrin after the spring festival. Her nights has been unbearable as she had visions of alternate realities. While she was sure that Xander was a good king in his current time, considering even Ryouma says Xander is doing well for Nohr, this Xander is different. He is visious and cruel, a killer in every sense of the word.

”Miss _____?” Nino’s voice came from the other side of the door, a light knocking following it. “I don’t know if you are awake, but Prince Alfonse and Commander Anna say they need you in the war room.”

She would have to think about her dreams and the connection to the two woman later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Xander messes up. Big time.

When she got dressed, forgoing the clothing that Sharena and Alfonse gave her after she got here for the workout clothing she had been wearing in her own world, along with her cloak, it was still dark. Nino had woken her up far before anytime she would have gotten up. _____ pushed the door open and the tiny girl was standing there. She herself looked more tired than the summoner did. So she simply patted the fluffy green hair. “Thank you darling. Go back to sleep. I will head up to the war room.” And that was what Nino did, obviously very happy that she was going to be able to go back to sleep. “I wonder why they asked her.” She thought to herself, watching Nino run off. Once the small girl was out of sight, she turned and made her way to the strategy room. The entire way there, she thought of perhaps summoning some later that day. It would be good. It was always better to be safe than sorry. 

Before she knew it, she was walking into the main room. Anna was the first one she saw. The red head walked over with a smile on her face. She liked Anna. The girl was happy, but not overbearingly so. “Right this way m’am.” Anna led her into a room where there were quite a few people already there. She immediately spotted Robin and Chrom. The two were standing rather close to each other while looking at the large map on the table. That was not very odd considering they were married. 

Her eyes flew over the others. To her surprise there was a recent summon, Zephiel. She heard his story, the man sticking to her side like most summons had. He was a wall of a man, well over 6 feet tall and covered in armor most of the time. However, perhaps she should not be so surprised. He was a king himself so he had the knowledge for these things. Standing beside him, albeit a little hesitantly, was Eliwood. A king himself, he was one of the younger heroes she had summoned. Not only that, but he was one of the first people she had summoned. It was one of the first things he talked about, how young he was. If she remembered correctly, he was 17. It was kind of funny seeing the red head stand next to Zephiel. While he was tall himself, Eliwood looked like a lanky branch compared to the other man; even in his armor.

Though Corrin was missing, Azura was standing back some. Ryouma stood up by the table. Xander was to his side, though not incredibly close. Alfonse was standing at the head of the table. Even though she was the last one in there and should have felt worse about that, what really twisted her stomach was seeing Azura. The girl had been a complete mystery to her. Everything about her, to her appearance to her aura, threw _____ off. Not that it was really a bad thing, but it was just different to say the least. Either way, _____ saddled up to Robin and Chrom; more comfortable with them at the moment. That received two downtrodden looks from Xander and Alfonse that she dutifully ignored. They needed to get down to business and the prince seemed to finally realize that. 

So their conversation started. Apparently Veronica was back on the move. Her forces had been reportedly spotted in a few different worlds, at least that was what some of their lookouts had said. That was bothersome. Veronica seemed to revel in the pain and misery of others. It made _____ feel sick to her stomach. The girl didn’t look to be older than Elise even! They had to have been the same age. How could someone so young be so prone to violence? “So I will need to do some more summons? We had collected some more material to do so right Robin?” _____ popped into the conversation with that. She was actually a little excited to do some summons. Azura and Corrin, as much as she enjoyed their company; she just kind of wanted to wash her hands of them some. The silver haired tactician nodded and reached into her cloak. She pulled out a bag that was not very big but still she knew it was heavy.

“Not much, but enough to do a few still.”

“That is alright,” Alfonse cut in. “We are going to need all the help we can get.” He walked up to the table once again and the conversation as to where they would move next continued. Hmm, with Robin here, I could go and get started on the summoning, she thought to herself. It was not that bad of an idea. She thought she was pretty good strategizers, but Robin had been doing it for years. One meeting without _____ would not be the end of the world. But something that Xander said caused the room to grow silent and her eyes to widen. 

“What?”

“I don’t want you out on the field this time.” So she should have been paying more attention. Well, maybe not that much. She could still get the horrible gist of what he was saying. Xander walked over closer, passing the others on the way. Zephiel’s eyes narrowed. He was a warrior through every molecule in his body. It was quite obvious that he was offended by Xander’s words, saw them as soft. He saw her as a warrior; now she realized that he saw her as a warrior more than Xander did. 

“What do you mean by that?” Now she was just pissed. Was he being serious? Robin’s hand rested lightly on her arm, a warning not to lose her cool. It was too bad that her cool was completely gone at this point. She felt heat rise up to her cheeks.

“I don’t want you out there with us. I have heard from you and others that you are reckless. I appreciate that you protect the healers and those that are smaller than you and perhaps are not close combat fighters, but you are not one either. You get injured a lot and the world you came from does not have to deal with these types of injuries any longer.”

She was stunned. He had obviously thought about this quite a bit. Had it been since the festival? When did this start? Her heart was racing as she felt anger bubble up inside of her. “I’m going out there Xander and you cannot stop me! Alfonse! Tell him!” Her head whipped around towards the prince and she felt herself go cold. He had this guilty look on his face. She checked Anna and the woman looked about the same. Both of them could not meet her eyes. “You agreed to this didn’t you?” If Alfonse did not want her on the field, than Anna had to follow along. She was the commander, yes, but he was the crowned prince. It did not matter how much Anna controlled, Alfonse still superseded her. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Robin’s hand tightened on her arm as ____ whispered in disbelief. It could not be true. She did not want to believe it. They had really just stuck her off on the sidelines without even consulting her in the first place. It couldn’t be real. She shook her head as her eyes came back to Xander who did not even look upset about it all. It was all his fault! Without another second of thought she backhanded him, making sure to do it with the hand that held the ring Xander gave her. The pop on his skin was so satisfying, especially as his eyes went wide; obviously not expecting her to do such a thing. No matter. It felt good and it looked even better, with the bright pink splotch showing up on his cheek. 

“Fuck you.” _____ dumped the orbs on the ground and sprinted out of the room that was just gaining light from the rising sun. Robin shouted for her, telling her to stop; but _____ did not listen. Instead she dropped the cloak which would have weighed her down as she ran. Left in her jogging shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes, she sprinted through the castle; finally making it to the back door. There was some part of her that noted the yelling behind her as well as the pounding of boots; but she did not care. It sounded like Robin anyways. All she wanted to do was get away. 

She had spent the past few months protecting these people, saving them from death half the time. They were her family almost more than her real family was. She cared deeply about them and now Xander what? Just wants to rip it all away? There was no way that _____ would allow it. Instead she just ran through the courtyard and the garden and quickly scaled the guard wall and burst into the woods. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she found that no one was following her. Good. That was what she wanted. She could not handle being around any of them at the moment. Some peace and quiet would do her good anyways. Hell, perhaps she could make a new life out in the woods. It was not like she needed them, at least that was what she thought. Her ideas about that were quickly squashed when night fell and the sounds of the forest surrounded her. When a sound that was distinctly people, and not friendly people, assaulted her ears, she knew that she had made a mistake. _____ had no weapons on her after all.

~’~

Xander knew he messed up right as her hand lifted to back hand him. The pain of the slap was only compounded with the bite of the ring on her finger. That was rubbing salt into his wounds. Alas, he could not squander on that. He saw Robin and Chrom rush forwards. The two of them shared some tense words; ranging from “she does not need to be around anyone” to “she would only talk to me”. It made his stomach drop. It really had upset her that much. Everything was not going how he thought it would. Even Zephiel, the mad king that he had spoken to a couple of times, gave him a nasty look. 

Everything was getting worse when he realized that she had not been in the clothing that Alfonse had given her, but her own worlds clothing specifically made for moving quickly and easily. This was going to be difficult. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things are revealed to two hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started playing conquest and I literally love "Corrin" and Azura. Those two kill me.

“It’s a good thing these woods are not as thick as we have experienced in the past.” Chrom muttered to himself as he and Robin continued on. His wife nodded. The two of them had been walking for quite some time and still not come upon anything to indicate _____’s whereabouts. Chrom had seen what she had been wearing. While his clothing was good for fighting, with some bonuses in mobility, hers was far beyond his. With how loose her clothing was and how cushioned her shoes were, she could move far faster and far longer than he or Robin. That could pose a problem. If they were unsuccessful at finding her by the time the sun started to set, Chrom would have Robin tame a hawk to send a message back and bring more people out. He was glad that Robin had such a connection with animals. They would have gotten into a lot of trouble in the past if it wasn’t for that. 

“Yeah. Plus it is still light outside. It would be a problem if she did this at night.” He nodded in response. They took a couple more steps before he put a hand out upon her shoulder. She stopped, looking over to him; noting that he was looking down to the ground. Following suit, she saw what had caught his attention. There was blood by a bush. It was a small bit, but it was blood none the less. Then some of the branches were crunched and broken by it as well. “Someone has come through here.” Chrom nodded and pulled out his sword. He used it to push back some of the branches and both saw that the blood trail continued through. 

Hopefully it was not what they were expecting for the blood started to increase in quantity. 

“Stop.” Chrom said suddenly while they were following the trail. It seemed as though his Exalt senses were heightened for he was catching something that Robin could not hear; odd considering it was usually the other way around. She strained to listen, yearning to hear if it was friend or foe that was close by. However when Chrom’s face went pale, his wife’s stomach dropped. He rushed forwards, her hot on his tail. When he stopped a little further up, her fears were confirmed. 

_____ was leaning against a tree. Her skin was pale, nearly ghostly grey in tone and soaking wet with sweat. Her hair was unruly and eyes bloodshot from the pain of her injury.

And it was an injury that Robin nor Chrom had ever dealt with. She apparently had gotten into a fight with an enemy solider for her left leg, “It’s gone.” Robin whispered with horror in her voice. Of course she could have only outrun soldiers for so long. Snapping out of the daze she had put them in, the pair rushed forwards. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” _____ cried when realizing Chrom and Robin were there with her. She was squeezing her mid-thigh right above where they cut her leg off. She was in an obvious panic. Chrom cupped her face with his hands as Robin started to pull out some bandages from the pouch on her hip. 

“Hush. Just stay awake for me. Robin’s going to patch you up.” Chrom knew that was a lie. Of course she could be patched up, but only to stop the bleeding as much as Robin could. They would have to get her back to the castle to actually do any serious healing. Then there was the fact that he could not see her cut off leg anywhere. It made him sick to his stomach by the fact he actually had to look for a severed leg. He felt Robin moving about, tying the bandages rather tightly around her thigh. Once she was done, Robin moved forwards. 

“Here. Drink.” Robin lifted her water pouch and allowed Chrom to move back. “Do you have any vulnerary Chrom?” The Exalt shuffled around only to come up with empty hands. “Well we need to get her back, but we can’t go very fast. You can carry her?” He nodded. Once they were able to situate her onto his back, enough so not to hurt her too bad, they started back. Chrom had never been too fond of blood; simply because he favored the peaceful way ever since Emmeryn’s death. It did not sit well with him that as he held _____, he could feel the blood from her leg seeping through his fingers like thick red water. It made Chrom’s stomach turn. 

“I made a mistake.” _____ whimpered. Robin turned to look at her as they continued to walker. She felt her heart tug at the saddened look on the other woman’s face. “I just wanted to protect people. I just wanted to fight alongside everyone. I wanted to have a purpose while being with the ones that I care about.” While ____ felt justified in what she did, she still felt foolish for it as well. She knew that she overreacted, but could not feel too bad about it. Instead, Robin simply reached out and held her hand as Chrom and her continued to walk.

“No matter the mistake, you are still you. You stood up for what you believe in. That is all that counts. I don’t know how many times I have told Chrom that,” She laughed a bit, trying to bring some levity to the entire situation. It worked a bit for she got a small smile out of the injured tactician. “Just never lose who you truly are. Keep it in your heart and never let go.” Robin finished right as they the castle grounds came into view through the tree line. Both Robin and Chrom knew that a blood trail was leading behind them. _____ was breathing heavy at this point from the loss of the blood; so hopefully a healer was at the ready. 

It seemed as though their thoughts were confirmed when they crossed the tree line and Elise sprinted out, Lissa and Maria hot on her tail. Xander and Alfonse were following with completely terrified looks on their faces. 

“Set her down Chrom.” Lissa said as she laid out a blanket. Robin noted that it was to keep any more dirt or grass out of the wound. Right as she was settled down, the three healers got to work. Elise was practically in tears as she held _____’s hand; working more on healing any wounds on her upper body. Alfonse collapsed to his knees beside her as well.

Xander on the other hand looked absolutely shell-shocked. How could this have happened? He knew how and why. It was all his fault. He had done this to her. She had lost one of her limbs because of his selfishness. He knew a part of it was also some conservative traditions he was still unable to shake from when his father had demented his mind. While she was probably smarter than him and a fighter as well, she was still… she was still a woman. In Nohr, even though it was a nation that prided itself on fighters, many scholars did not touch the battlefield. That was what she was. She was a scholar. There. He admitted it. He wanted to keep her away from the pain and the suffering. 

“We can’t close up the wound.” Lissa frowned. Chrom could hear the bite of tears in her voice. “All we can do is stop the blood.” Alfonse was obviously angry at this as well because he stood, turned, and covered the newly forming tears with his hand. 

“May I try something?” Azura’s soothing voice broke into their discussion. All of them turned and found Azura and Corrin standing aside from them. Xander shifted a bit, slightly uncomfortable with the two of them still. Even though peace had come to Hoshido and Nohr and the two families were closer than they had ever been in the past, it still hurt quite a bit that Corrin and Azura left their family for the Hoshidans. It hurt even worse when he found out Corrin had married Takumi, the younger brother of Ryouma. However, Azura, being who she was, was profoundly gifted in the arts of healing and magic. If anyone could do anything to help _____, it would be her. So they all shuffled to make room for the blue haired woman. She laid her Naginata down beside the injured woman. Lissa, Elise, and Maria all still had their staves out. With the blue toned glows that came from them, Azura’s voice as she sang made the entire thing far less real then it seemed. 

That was something that Xander always enjoyed about Azura. Her voice was a songstress was unrivaled. She put her hands out above _____’s sweating body. Palms down, a compounded glow flowed around her, this one a lighter blue than the others; nearly a white. The three healer’s eyes widened as their staves glowed brighter and brighter in turn. For a moment it was so bright that everyone had to look away. However when it died down and they turned back, _____’s wound was healed. This skin had grown back and she had a far less pained look on her face. Azura simply went to reach for her Naginata, but _____’s hand grabbed her wrist before she could get far. 

“Thank you.” It came out as barely more than a whisper. 

“You are very welcome. I will come speak with you later.” And with that, Azura stood and walked off with Corrin following closely behind her. Everyone was left in a silence that was most uncomfortable. Only when Chrom coughed did something stir. 

“I believe that we should get her back inside.” Alfonse and Xander could agree with that. When Alfonse went to pick her up though, Robin stopped him. His angry face did not deter her either. Instead, Chrom reached down and scooped her into his arms. She was limp but still very conscious to everything around her. Once she and Chrom were gone, Robin spoke up.

“Now is not the best time to speak with her. Neither of you that is.” She said, looking between him and Xander. And while the Askr prince understood, the Nohrian King really seemed to be in a frazzle for after they re-entered the castle, he made his way to her room. When he got there, she was still awake, if not rather feebly. Chrom had sat her up for she was looking out over the scenery outside her window. When she spotted him, a sad look crossed her stunning features. 

“I’m sorry.” 

I’m sorry? That was the first thing she said to him? She was sorry? He had pushed her out into the woods and that was what she said to him. Instead of answer right away, he pulled up one of the chairs at the table in her room and sat it next to her bed. There, he leaned over and grabbed her hand. “Never say you are sorry to me. Especially when it was not your fault.” Luckily that pulled a smile from her. 

“Alright.” Good. He did not have to battle her much with this. However, their conversation lulled to a screeching halt after that. Neither of them were quite sure as to what to say to each other. Xander was the one to “forbid” her from going out into battle and she was the one that ran off into the woods. Really it was both their faults for what had happened. Now they had to live with the consequences. Xander continued to hold her hand, drawing patters into her palm with his thumb. All the while she stared at her lap.

“I believe that I lied to you about somethings.” He needed to get this out. With what just happened, there was no reason to hold anything back. So much was changing so fast. _____ hummed. “I lied to you about the Nohrian clothing at the spring festival.” That caught her attention. She looked up a bit at him. “The scholars on the court do not where purple and black.”

“I had a feeling you were lying to me about that if we are being honest.” That pulled a chuckle from the Nohrian king. 

“Those that wear purple and black in Nohr are royalty.” He felt her freeze. The pulse beating in her wrist picked up tenfold. When Xander looked up _____’s face was flushed beet red. “While I do wish for you to advise me in the ways of the sciences and politics and military actions, I want more from you. I want you to obtain a status higher than just a scholar on the court.” Her hands began to sweat in his, the anxiety of it getting to her.

“_____. I wish for you to be the Queen of Nohr and rule by my side." 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh the poetic rhyme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so let's be honest I had no idea that it would end up this way haha. But I have about everything else written out. And I'll give ya'll a little spoiler, she will get hurt one more time before this is over. I seem to have a thing for hurting my main characters anymore like jesus.

Xander felt his stomach drop when silence followed his confession. Well, maybe it was more appropriate to call it his proposal. Yes he did not say out right “Marry me”, but the gist of the words were quite clear. Though her silent response was not. That made him worry. It was the first time in a long time that he was worried about what someone would say. 

He watched her wide eyes flinch before looking down at their joined hands. She brushed against his “proposal ring”. The stone looked dim in this light which only worked to make his stomach tighter in anxiety. What did that mean? It had to mean something! “Growing up, I had a lot of friends with disabilities. I had to protect them from bullies and would often get beat up in their place.” Xander listened as though it was the last thing he would ever hear. “I never cared about getting hurt though. I just wanted to make sure my friends were ok. Something about that though; I never thought I would be in their shoes, as strange as that sounds.” _____ said with a bit of a sad laugh, pointing towards her absent leg. “I just never crossed my mind that I could lose a leg; though I guess it should have considering I would drive a car every day and occasionally get on an airplane.” Xander had no idea what either of those things were but that was beside the point. “I was never as strong as them. I see that now especially.” His heart broke as a sob slipped from her lips. “I feel like a shattered doll. How disgusting is that?” _____ sobbed into her hands. “I hate this. In the end I was the weakling. I was weak in mind and body.”

“Don’t you dare.” Xander had to cut in at this point. His larger hands grabbed hers tightly and pulled them up; her eyes following suit so they were locked to his. “Don’t you dare speak such words about yourself. Those lies, horrible lies.” Tears dripped from her eyes as she watched him. “Over the time I have spent here, I met you. I met you and you showed me kindness and generosity and a strength in one person that I cannot comprehend. You have shown me this intelligence that is equally confounding yet so stunning that it takes my breath away.” Like water down falls, tears slipped from her tired eyes. “You have shown me beauty,” At this he paused and let go of one of her hands to cup her cheek. Emotions ran wild between the two and she pushed her face into his comforting hand. “You have shown me a beauty equal to that of a goddess. No, more so. So beautiful that nothing can compare to it.” Xander was glad that it got a small smile out of her. “So do not, I repeat, do not say you are broken; because you are not. And even if you were, I would… I would love you no matter what happened.”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back; the dam way was busted open. She lunged forwards and hugged Xander tightly; loving the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her. “I will keep you safe no matter what.” Xander muttered into the crown of her head. The two of them continued to cling to each other; not wanting to let go. Though what she was going to do next did not exactly require that. 

“You know, my parents got a divorce at a young age.” _____ had already told him that. It was slightly jarring having to explain to someone that was almost 30 years old what divorce was, but she got her point across. Xander also got his point across, explaining how he was not happy with her father or mother in how they treated her in the aftermath. “I don’t really know what going back would offer me.” It was Xander’s turn to freeze once again. Not going back? Wait. Did she mean…

Gently, he pulled himself away but kept his hands tightly wound with hers. That smile. Oh gods the smile _____ put his way. 

“I’m not very good with formal manners so I think I may need someone to tutor me.” 

With her sly little acceptance of his proposal, he could not hold himself back from lifting her up and spinning her in the air before gently setting her back down onto the bed. Once she was settled, Xander knelt before her and took her hand once again.

“You have just made me the happiest man in all of these worlds."

~’~

Alfonse felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. It ached; oh how it ached. He felt even his heart strings tugging, his chest pushing in on itself. In the past couple of days, weeks, months; he had suspected it. But of course he did not want it to be true. Who would want someone they loved to fall in love with someone else? Alfonse would laugh at how poetic it was if it weren’t for how much it pained him. Of course it would happen to him though. His luck had always been pitiful to say the least. And now it seemed to have run out completely. 

“Shit.” He whispered under his breath right outside her room. It was further unfortunate considering he was going to have to go in there sooner or later. He needed to tell her about the prosthetic maker he found in town. Askr was a strong kingdom, but there were often people in her situation. More often than not they were mages, just like her. Therefore, Alfonse had searched all across the lands and found a prosthetic maker. Since she had an affinity for magic, she should be able to operate one made by said smith. You are going to have to go in Alfonse, he thought to himself with a deep breath. So he took a peak around the corner to make sure Xander was sitting in his chair once again, which he was. One more deep breath and he knocked on the door before entering. The couple looked up with smiles on their faces.

“Alfonse! It’s good to see you.” _____’s happy attitude really only felt like salt being rubbed into his wounds for dozens of reasons. One of the main ones being that he was angry at her happiness. In that moment he saw how selfish that was. She and Xander were so happy. He…If he loved her enough, he should be happy that she was happy; plain and simple. So he walked to the other side of the bed with a solid mask on; completely hiding the agony he felt in the pit of his stomach. 

“How are you doing? You seem quite a bit better.” A quick flicker of his eyes to Xander found the Nohrian king to be staring at her, a similar love struck look on his face. 

“Much better actually. It seemed as though I just needed some company.” 

Damn she really was not holding back. Oh well, he thought to himself. “I found someone that could get you a prosthetic for your leg.” Her reaction was immediate. She flew up and actually ended up falling out of the bed some. Alfonse ended up having to catch her and gently rest her back up. Hot headed did not exactly describe her; or well, yes it did. He had just never seen it before. She was hot headed, but never gave up.

“Really? Oh Alfosne that would be wonderful.” The conversation that she and Xander had been having explained that much. Hearing her talk like she had been hurt Alfonse. In that past he never knew that she looked down on herself so much. With her injury it had just become compounded. Perhaps this would help with that.

“Yes. He is ready today to do fittings if you are.” It was already getting late but Alfonse knew she would go out in the middle of the night for something like this. And he was proven right when she started to shuffle towards him to get off the bed. Xander looked anxious that she had not turned towards him having snapped out of his love struck gaze. However the king was good hearted so he allowed the events to unfold. 

“Poop.” _____ had stopped at the side of the bed. He knew why as well. So with a quick look into her eyes and a nod on her end, he tucked his arms underneath her and picked her up. Alfonse could admit that Xander really was a kind man. He understood her whims and her desires; her friends and her relationships. The blond simply followed behind Alfonse as he exited the room and headed down to the front entrance. The three of them quickly made their way through the town which had grown relatively quiet at this point of the day. With the sun setting, everyone was cast in a warm orange. It seemed to tire the summoner in Alfonse’s arms for she rested her head onto his shoulder. “Thank you Alfonse. For everything.”

Oh how her words pained him. 

“Anything for you.” And he was being honest. He would do anything for her. Even let her go.

The rest of the day went by fast considering the sun had already been setting. Of course the blacksmith was more than happy to work for the crowned prince and the famous hero summoner. He had been rather emotional upon seeing her injury, almost crying in the process. But the old man got himself together and started to do the measurements. To the warrior’s surprise, he actually had one ready. “Not many in the kingdom are as tall as you miss, but it just so happens that I make a few extra every once and a while. Those mages can be rather frail, not that it’s an insult to you.” Once he and _____ got her all strapped in, he explained how it was to be used and operated. It was powered by magic, just as Alfonse expected. They did not do much more than that. They finished with _____ profusely thanking the older man which caused the blacksmith to burst into tears.

“To be thanked by such a selfless hero! The gods have truly blessed me!” He hugged her for quite some time before Alfonse had to pull her away. Because she still could not correctly, he picked her up once more and the three of them headed back towards the castle in the light of the lanterns lining the cobblestone pathway. When they got back to the castle, Elise and Nino dragged Xander off before he could utter another word; leaving a sleepy _____ in Alfonse’s arms. So he simply walked her back up to her room where he tucked her into her bed. Turning to leave, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his cape.

“Alfonse.”

The prince turned and knelt down beside her. Like snow on a spring morning, he started to melt; his walls began to disappear. “Yes?” His hand brushed some of her hair back from her face; her eyes drooped a bit by the sensation.

“Thank you so much.” 

All he could do was nod for if he spoke a word he would surely cry for how much he loved her, for how much he wanted her happiness; even if it meant breaking his own heart in return. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shattered. We are all shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell, Path of Radiance was my first Fire Emblem game so I love Ike like I would a family member haha. I am in wrap up mode for this, considering there should be about 3ish more chapters. Ish, don't take my word for it though haha. There will be a different ending for this than what is canon in the game. Oh my god though I have been playing Echoes and I love/hate Fernand so much. Same with Berkut haha.

Because of the black-smiths incredible talent, _____ was able to be back up on her feet in no time. It was good to considering that Veronica was back on the move. She hated the selfish princess if she were being honest. Why did Veronica do all of this? There had to be some good reason; or at least _____ was going to demand a good reason, especially after all she had sacrificed. Either way, many of Alfonse’s army found themselves in the war room once again. Anna was leading the discussion, explaining the path of attack they were going to take. 

While that was going on, ______ would be foolish to deny that she was not paying attention. Well, not paying attention to Anna. Her hand was underneath the table, entangled with Xander’s who was sitting next to her. The smile on her face would be a dead giveaway that she was distracted if anyone was paying attention to her. Well, if anyone other than Xander was. However he was rather talented at acting as if he were paying attention to the commander. 

“Stop that darling.” Xander leaned down and whispered into her ear. He had no malice in his tone but still she decided that it would be prudent to listen. So the rest of the meeting went on without much flare. 

Veronica had found her way onto the continent of Tellius. It seemed as though it held the strongest warrior in all of the realms, Ike. That in itself could prove to be a problem. If he was nasty by nature, then the fighting would be a harsh battle. Those that truly did not care who were on the other end of their blade were warriors to be feared. They would be taking a gamble as well since Ike was sure to have allies who were just as strong. 

So their army packed all their supplies they would need and headed to the summoning ground where the portal also opened. Once there, _____ used her magic and opened the hole in space. Or well, that is what she believed them to be. To her there had to be some sort of scientific explanation. The make-up of the matter in this world had to be slightly different than the one in hers, allowing for such a thing to happen. If the physics were different as well, it would explain the ability to do magic. Perhaps the compression of particles in the air would give them wind magic, even fire magic. However she would have to think about that later for they arrived on Tellius rather quickly. The first thing she noted was that it reminded her quite a bit of the country she lived in, in her home world. Well the area they were currently in reminded her of her country. It was warm, humid to boot. The sun was beating down upon them rather mercilessly. While some of the people in her army, particularly those from cold countries like Xander himself were having trouble, she was rather fine in the weather. 

“So we should head south from here until we hit a city. The sightings were said to be on the southern end of the continent.” Anna said in front of everyone. She led the motley crew through the woods and the swamps, further and further south until they reached a river. Upon spotting that, they decided to follow parallel to it. Sooner or later they would reach a town where people would know what was going on or at least where they were. 

But they did not have to go far before coming to a quick halt. Past them, through the trees and into a clearing, was Ike. He had a handful of people around him as well as some of Veronica’s own men. Immediately _____ could see the fain haze of sickly green around Ike and his people, the tell-tale sign of being under Veronica’s spell. Something else she noted was the fact that they looked to be merely children. Well, the beautiful red headed woman was definitely not a child. She looked like she was more Xander’s age. But Ike, the black haired male that was standing close to him, and the young girl by the red head could not be over 20. Hell the little brunette couldn’t have been older than 15, if not younger. Suddenly the idea of fighting them made her stomach turn. It reminded her of facing Nino a while ago.

“Shit.” _____ whispered under her breath. Alfonse was beside her and his hand came up and gripped her elbow. He did this occasionally and at this point _____ barely noticed. If anything it was grounding; keeping her in reality. His warm hand felt good upon her skin. Through the touch, he was also able to communicate what he was feeling.

Which was the same as her. Considering she and Alfonse were the same age, and Sharena was closer to Ike and his friend’s age, it would be like fighting a younger brother or sister.

But they could not think about that right then. Ike was under Veronica’s spell and they had to help them, not matter the cause. So everyone pulled back some and Anna began to explain the situation. 

Chrom, Ryouma, and Xander would be their main units, as well as Alfonse. With that, they would have Ursula who was a new recruit back them up. Peri would be in front of Ursula and Azura and Robin would come in as well. While Azura was more there for _____ in case something happened, she was a strong fighter so she would come in handy.

“I want to say stay back with Elise and Serra but I know you won’t.” Xander said as he got back up onto his horse. _____ smiled up at her… ugh it was weird to think about but smiled up at her fiancé. His visage in the warm Tellius sunlight, even through the filter of the treetops, made her stomach do little flips. 

Damn she was really in love, more so than she first realized. 

“You are right. But don’t worry. I won’t go too far out. I just want to make sure that you all are safe. I think you must realize that.” And Xander did. He understood that it was a two way street, the need to keep those that you love safe and secure; not that he wished she would do it in some other way. But there was no time to ponder on that. Instead, their group turned. On Anna’s command, the fight began. Just as the red headed commander explained, Ike was the fiercest warrior any of them had ever fought. His sword danced with such precision. While Xander was not one to base his judgement of someone on their class, he was surprised at how talented Ike was considering he was not of the nobility. Whoever taught him must be a devil with a blade. His counterparts were just as fierce with their skill. The red headed cavalier was similarly a woman of battled blood. Even the small mage that stuck to Ike’s hip like glue was powerful with his tomb. The wind that he produced kicked up the dirt and lowered visibility quite a bit. 

Yet somehow they were able to take the day with just a few minor injuries. Xander rode forwards to where Ike was sitting on the ground. He was shaking his head as though coming out of a dream; which Xander was sure is what it felt like considering he just had a powerful spell over him. Once he was fully kicked out of it, he looked up, spotting Xander and Chrom who had just walked up. “You all saved us, saved my friends and my family. I could not thank you more. Thank you for breaking the contract.” 

“No thanks is needed. We are just glad that you and your friends are ok.” They were honestly surprised at how down to earth and kind Ike was. Well, perhaps they should not have been. Almost everyone within their little rag tag army was of noble birth; a majority of them were. Ike was a “commoner”. 

“Time to head back.” Anna shouted towards the king and the Exlat. They turned and nodded. While everyone gathered, _____ opened the portal back to Askr. One by one they shuffled through, leaving _____ at the end since she had to be the last one to go through to close the thing. Once they were through, Alfonse paused. _____ was standing there, staring at the clearing and Ike who was speaking with his friends. 

“Come on _____. Let us head back.” His words did cause her to start shuffle his way, but it was not fast enough. Suddenly the portal started to shrink at a great speed. Alfonse felt panic take over his body. _____ could only open portals up to twice a day and she had already done two. He could not lose her again. He could not have her getting hurt again, or worse. “_____!” 

_____ spun with terror in her eyes. How foolish had she been? She was enjoying the view of Ike being so happy with his family; of loving the life he was living. She loved such pure moments like, especially with how starry eyed the black haired mage was around Ike. But it had been a stupid mistake it seemed. Her sentimentality was going to get her injured again for even if she sprinted at the quickly closing portal, she would not make it.

And she didn’t. She was stuck and no one was going to come for her, especially considering they would not be able to.

“Finally I have you little summoner.” 

Veronica. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an idiot and forgot to post this chapter.

_____ spun around at Veronica’s voice. The small princess was standing before her, a wicked smile upon her face. When she glanced around the girl, she saw that Ike and his friends had vanished, probably by Veronica’s doing.

“What did you do with them?” Because really she was far more worried about Ike than she was about herself at this point. It seemed as though ever since she came to Askr, she had become more selfless than she had ever been; really only caring about others. 

“Oh they are safe. I rarely can control heroes a second time around.” Oh thank god, that was a weight off of _____’s back. “Not that it will matter to you.” Wait what? However she was not able to think about it a second time because Veronica shot forwards. Her small body was unsurprisingly fast. However her fist packed little punch because even though she swung at _____, it did nothing to actually hurt her. She simply jumped back. It seemed as though magic would do little to Veronica since her resistance to it would be high. _____ looked around wildly for any sort of melee weapon. She was able to spot a hefty branch which she grabbed, aimed, and swung. The swing was a hit because it knocked the wind out of Veronica. “Why won’t you die!” She screamed. When Veronica reached for her tome, _____ knew she was in trouble. A green miasmic fog echoed around her after Veronica chanted her spell. It was toxic, so thick in the air it became hard to breathe. “Good! I can finally kill you!” 

Because of the spell she had cast, _____’s visibility was almost as zero, even in such close range. This gave Veronica the opening and she took it. With the armored gloves she was wearing, sharpened at her nails, she threw her hand forwards and it hit the mark. Her claws had dug into _____’s eye socket and even the summoner could hear the gushing of visceral matter within her. Everything froze within that moment. 

As Veronica’s sharpened claws dug into _____’s eye, something snapped within her. Yes it was the pain and the blood that was already gushing out of the wound like a broken faucet; but it was something else as well. This was fury; anger beyond any language in any of the realms. Why was Veronica doing all of this? Why had she caused all this misery for the kingdom of Askr and Alfonse? Because she was bored? Lonely? She had experienced loneliness in her life but she had never started a war with a neighboring country. And now _____ had the second possibly critical wound that the petulant girl caused.M

“Fuck!” She screamed as she collapsed to her knees. Blood was gushing out of her eye socket so she had to cover it with one of her hands; though that did very little. It ran through her fingers like water. There was one thing new after she got her temporary prosthetic for her leg. She was not crying from the pain of losing an eye. Perhaps it was because of the adrenaline; though she suspected more that it was anger. Her heart was beating out of her chest so fast that she did not even realize she was screaming. It was not of pain. It was of fury. 

“You have gotten in my way enough summoner. I thought that losing your leg would have killed you, but I guess my idiotic soldiers could not do it. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. The amount of blood you are losing should do the trick.” Veronica’s words were punctuated by a light laugh; after which she turned to walk off. However, _____ was not going down that easily. With one horribly blurred eye, she spotted a metal shard from a broken piece of armor beside her. She grabbed it and then grabbed Veronica’s thin ankle with her other hand. The blond princess had not time to react before the injured tactician stabbed the shard right into her ankle. It sent the girl sprawling in a fit of agony. Obviously she had never experienced such pain, though she liked to deal it out quite a bit. 

“ Eat shit you dumb bitch!” She screamed as she crawled over the agonizing princess. ______ was done. She was so done with Veronica. The fog of war and anger covered her vision and she swung the shard of metal down again and again and again and again. It was as though she had blacked out and some demonic force took over for if she was still in her right mind, she would have screamed herself at Veronica’s blood splashing up onto her. 

She did not stop until Alfonse’s hands were pulling her away. At that, the spell broke and the realization hit her as to what she did. During this war in Askr, she had injured enemies with her thunder tome. It had been self-defense. Perhaps this had been self-defense as well, but something was obviously different. She had murdered someone. “Oh god.” _____ screamed into Alfonse’s chest. The two of them collapsed a bit away so Alfonse could just hold her as she sobbed blood and tears. The liquid streaked down her face as a testament to what just happened. 

“Prince Alfon-“ Xander cut himself off when he ran over to the tow of them. He had heard her scream multiple times but simply thought she had been fighting. Well, she had been. But he wanted to give her space, as painful as it was for him. They were to be wed, hopefully so, and she commanded him to take up his own duties on the battlefield. While he said that one of them was protecting her, she refuted him and simply went her own way during the battle. Now he knew that it had all been for naught. There was more blood than perhaps he had ever seen in his nearly three decades of living. She was covered in blood as she clung to Alfonse, sobbing pitifully; babbling words that perhaps only she could understand. He felt like vomiting upon realizing that Veronica was dead, stabbed dozens of times in the chest. Then there was the fact that the blood coming from _____ was from her eye socket; the eye that was supposed to be there gone. She was losing too much blood.

“El…” No. He could not call Elise over. He knew it was selfish of him to shield his youngest sister from _____’s injury and put it upon one of the other healers; but Xander knew his little sister. He knew how it would affect her. So instead he called for Lucius, one of their most recent summons. The healer ran over with a grim look on his face. His blue cloaks fluttered before kneeling and pulling out all of his supplies. Luckily he was able to heal her while she was in Alfonse lap. Well, not exactly “lucky”. Xander did not think so. But she looked relatively comfortable where she was and that was all he wanted. So he finished up his healing, stopping the bleeding at least. Once she was bandaged, it seemed as though all of it had been too much for she passed out in Alfonse’s arms.

Xander could see the pain on the young prince’s face. “King Xander.” It was the first time that the Askr prince addressed Xander in such a manner. The blonde king knelt beside him so _____ was between the two, though still resting upon Alfonse’s chest. “We were only able to get back to her because the portal opened again; though we do not know how. If that had not happened…” Alfonse had to pause but Xander understood what went unsaid. She would be dead. “I could not protect her.” Both watched Alfonse pet the bandaged area with such delicacy, she probably would not have even felt it if she were awake. “But you will.”

And there it was. So Alfonse had heard what they shared in the bedroom. A part of Xander felt a splash of guilt. It was obvious that Alfonse had feelings for her; anyone with working eyes could see it. But he could not think about that then. He had to think about caring for her. “Promise me King Xander. Promise me that she will never be hurt again. I don’t think I could ever life in peace knowing that someone would not protect her.” 

“I promise you.” And he did. He promised Alfonse that. It was the least he could do for the prince of Askr. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And that is how the story goes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah and here we are at the end. I hope you have enjoyed it! I actually have something in the works that has to do with Fernand and something like an "avatar". More just of the "_____" (she will be from Archanea). That will be more of a just complete one chapter though longer like around 10,000 words or so? I have just completely fallen in love with Fernand and his voice my goodness.

With Veronica’s death, the war came to a quick and swift end. Peace came to Alfonse’s land once again; though that meant his story with these warriors was coming to a close as well. Since _____ was the only one that could open the gates, she slowly started allowing everyone to head back to their perspective worlds. Each time people left, she felt a piece of herself leaving with them. It hurt. It hurt a lot. She knew that she would miss them terribly since they had become like family to her. But Askr was not their home land; not where they were mean to be. So little by little people went home. Chrom and his friends were actually the last group to leave aside from those with Xander. 

“It seems as though this is goodbye.” Robin said as she walked up to _____. Her stomach twisted at the other mages words. Goodbye. She did not want it to be goodbye. Over the time that she had spent with her, Chrom, and the others; they had become her friends. So maybe…maybe it did not have to be goodbye.

“I can open these portals.”

“I know that.” Robin responded as Lissa and Chrom made their way over. Fredrick was slowly following up the rear. 

“So maybe this doesn’t have to be the end.” 

“Really!?” Lissa was the one to respond to her suggestion, though the others did look excited at the prospect. She nodded. It may be selfish of her, but she just really did not want to leave them all behind. That included some others that were not present to see Chrom and his friends off. 

“Really. Anyways, I will need some more help with my eye.” While she knew that those in Nohr would be able to heal her just fine, it was a good enough excuse. Lissa, being one of the healers in Alfonse’s army, helped her quite often as they patched her eye up. 

“I will have to get you a new eyepatch. Something prettier!” They said their goodbyes. Robin and _____ were teary eyed as they hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks in farewell. 

Once they were gone, it was only those from Nohr and Hoshido left in the world of Askr. They would all be leaving at one time however. And she would be going with them. It was odd. She just…she just couldn’t leave so soon. While she knew Hinoka and the others were curious as to why they were spending more time there, they did not comment on it. Instead, they simply went along.

So it wasn’t until a couple of weeks later did they pack up their things and head back to the temple. This time Sharena, Anna, and Alfonse were all there with them. Anna and Sharena’s goodbye’s, while sad and full of tears, was not nearly as hard as when she turned to Alfonse. The prince was quiet and solemn, so much so that she just could not take it. _____ surged forwards and her lips found his. She knew Xander would understand. _____ had been the first one there in Askr. She had spent most of her time with Alfonse. While she knew she loved him perhaps as much as Xander, the conditions had been wrong for them. If things had been different, she very well may have been staying in Askr. 

Slowly she pulled away from Alfonse. The prince reached out and his hand just brushed her lips. No. I can’t, she thought to herself. “I’ll come see you again. I’ll come see you as much as I can.” It was directed only at Alfonse and no one cared. No. Instead, he nodded with that saddened look and she and the others turned towards the portal, walking into a new world where things would be different for her. 

~’~

Meeting Leo and Camilla was quite the experience. Camilla was, friendly to say the least. Xander explained to the two right away that _____ was going to be his wife and the rumor spread like wild fire. Camilla was happy though. Happy enough to hug _____ tight enough to cut off breathe explaining how happy she was to have another sister. Leo was honestly cordial and excited, though he did not hug nearly as hard. She was not too surprised that the plans for the wedding started immediately. So fast indeed that it made her head spin. Luckily they came back to Nohr in the early spring so while there were still cold days, it was warm enough for her to go outside. That also meant it would just get warmer with each passing day. It also seemed as though she was going to have a June wedding.

However, there was a problem.

“I have no idea how to ballroom dance.” Leo stared at her as though she had grown two heads when she explained the situation. Why was it so surprising that someone did not know how to dance? Well, dance formally. Sure she had danced in high school and college, but that was like; dance parties and that freestyle. Never had she done something so formal as a waltz or the like. So that was how she found herself there with Leo and Elise. They were in the large ballroom where she and Xander’s first dance would actually take place. Because of her predicament, Elise and Leo took it upon themselves to teach her. 

It must have been nice to be royalty considering they also just had to say a few words and they had their own little string quartet to accompany her and Leo’s dance. Well…. It would be her string quartet soon enough. It still seemed kind of unreal to her. 

“You are zoning out again. Straighten your back.” I take it back Leo is mean, she thought to herself as they glided around the dance floor. She was lucky that she had some experience at dancing for the ballroom dancing was not too hard. But Leo held quite the iron fist when he was teaching. He did not hold back in the slightest. And Elise told him that, shouting that he was being too harsh to his soon to be older sister and queen. 

“Elise, you don’t have to say anything like that.” _____ pipped in to cut the girl off from saying queen again. It really did make her uncomfortable. Thankfully the day went by quickly. 

Perhaps not thankfully though, the wedding day was suddenly there and her anxiety was so bad it was making her shake. Of course it was not because she did not want to marry Xander. She wanted to marry the man. It was more she was terrified of the responsibility she was about to take on. Becoming queen of a nation all of a sudden? Who would be comfortable with that? It was absolutely terrifying. But it was there none the less and she had to do it. That was how she found herself standing in between Camilla and Elise. Leo was in front of them towards the door to the chapel. Since there was no one of her own family there, he was going to walk her down the aisle. Perhaps she shouldn’t be so worried though. It was a small gathering, not even over twenty people. Still. Xander was the king of Nohr. 

“Are you ready?” 

“No.” She responded to Leo, halfway joking and halfway being serious. Over the time he taught her how to dance, they had grown close considering she really was just two years older than him. _____ was just an older sister with slightly more power. Either way, he hooked his arm into hers and with a deep breath and a squeeze of his hand, they walked into the chapel. Right away she felt tears in her eyes for a couple of reasons. One of the big ones was how beautiful the place was. It was not like normal churches in her world. It was entirely made out of glass. With the setting summer sun, it looked as though the room was drenched in rainbows.

Then there was Xander. He was beyond handsome in his royal regalia. It was similar to what he wore into battle, just spruced up quite a bit with the golds and more purple. The entire walk up with Leo, she felt those tears of happiness spilling from her as the anxiety she had once felt slip away.

Finally _____ stood in front of her husband. It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Even Xander had some tears in his eyes. “Gods you are more beautiful than any goddess.”

“Don’t incur their wrath.” She laughed a bit before allowing the ceremony to go on. Quicker than in her world, the wedding suddenly came to an end and they were kissing. It was perfect though. Oh stars above how perfect it was. Xander was actually crying at that point. And they loved each other more than they could possibly understand. 

~’~

“I’m so glad you could make it!” Hinoka shouted over the chatter in the main square. Going through the country side of the frigid Nohr and warm Hoshido was quite a shock, but _____ was glad to be back in the sun if she were being honest. Yes Nohr had its sunny days where she would spend hours outside, but more often than not it was too cold for her. Where she lived on her home world was rather close to the equator of the planet so it was always warm. It was part of the reason why she asked Xander if she could visit Hoshido. She knew, from Hinoka and Ryouma talking to her back in Askr, that Hoshido was a warm country. 

They were right. It was warm and absolutely stunning. It reminded _____ so much of Japan in her own world. 

“It took a while.” _____ responded as she climbed out of the carriage. There was a brief moment of silence when she realized Hinoka was looking behind her. There was a slight tense sensation that covered the air around them. Oh yeah. Leo. Also while she had been in Askr with all of them, she heard of the war the two nations fought against one another. While they had found peace eventually with Xander and Ryouma becoming kings of their respective nations, there was still anxiety between the two countries. “Oh I am sorry. Xander said that I could leave the country for the first time but someone would have to come with me. I hope this isn’t too much of a problem.” To her surprise though, Hinoka simply smiled and walked forwards. The two warriors shared a deep hug before she walked back over to the old summoner. 

“Everything will be fine.” Good. She dodged a bullet with that one. The others on the court in Nohr would be furious if their new queen messed up her first trip abroad. Plus she quite enjoyed Leo’s company. He was the intelligent one in the family, more so than Xander in fact. It gave her someone to talk to that had more personality than a blank wall. So the three of them continued through the square towards the castle. All the while, Hinoka pointed out different restaurants and stores. They actually ended up buying some things. Finally they made it to the castle where _____ noticed many of the soldiers that she had summoned at some point or another. They said their salutations before she, Leo, and Hinoka all made their way into the main building. Just like out in the courtyard, _____ saw many that she recognized. Only when she saw Ryouma did she rush forwards.

“Ryouma!” She shouted in excitement hugging the taller man. He did not have all of his heavy armor on, going for plain clothing. Or, well, plain for a king of a country. The older male was excited to see her as well.

“It has been quite some time.” He as well as the rest of them that had come from this world had been there when Xander announced they would be wed once in Nohr again. 

“It has.”

“What are you doing here in Hoshido?” Ryouma spotted Leo standing quietly behind them. There was a small smile on the blonde’s face; nothing too big or small, simply a relaxed look. “Xander did not come with you.”

“No. He said that I should see the continent. Plus he wanted to stay for a while and deal with somethings. You know that he can take care of himself, though he does have Peri and Laslow with him.” Ryouma nodded at her words. 

However, Hinoka did know why. “She wanted to see our country. Or at least, the beaches.”

“The coast?” Ryouma asked as Leo walked forwards, _____ walking back over towards her new brother in law. “Whatever would you want to do by the ocean?” Hoshido was known for the beautiful water that sat on its edges, but the royal family was not one to frequent the coast. 

This time Leo broke in. “She has been working on this odd wooden board; carving and waxing that thing for days on end.” It was true. _____ had been working on a surf board. While not incredible at it, she lived by the coast in her old world and surfing was something she did often. There was obviously no place to surf in a place like Nohr. 

Ryouma looked back towards her and she simply shrugged. “It is true. I have been working on a surf board. Plus it is just so frigid in Nohr. I had to get out of there for a while.” She laughed, everyone else doing the same. 

“I guess we will just have to make the trip there then.” He was going to say something else but people entering the main throne and meeting room caused all of them to turn. _____ recognized two of the new people, being Azura and Corrin. The woman excitedly skipped over to her where they shared hugs. However the other two were strangers. “Ah! Perfect timing you two. I would like to introduce you to the new queen of Nohr.” That got their interest, whoever they were. The male’s eyes widened a bit as he walked over. The shorter girl that looked to be Hinoka’s younger clone flushed a bit but followed as well. “Takumi, Sakura, this is _____.” Oh. So this was Ryouma’s younger brother and younger sister. Plus, she was finally able to meet Corrin’s husband. They looked friendly enough, though slightly shy if anything. 

“It is great to meet you Sakura, Takumi.” She bowed knowing that handshakes in this country were not completely welcome. Both siblings followed suit. Well, Takumi was a good pair for Corrin. They were both rather quiet. And Sakura was the complete opposite of her two older siblings. They were loud and could often be brash. Sakura was quiet as a mouse and shy to boot. 

_____ was not ignorant though. She could see the attempted hidden glances at her leg and her black eye patch. While she knew they were not full of any malicious intent, it still hurt a bit; though not as much as the courts-people’s looks do. Those burned with more suspicion and hatred. Xander being by her side and loving her for who she was no matter her appearance was what got her through the days. 

“Like I was saying though. We will be taking a family trip to the coast since we have the queen of Nohr visiting us.” The hum of murmuring that followed was not as loud as she was expecting. It really seemed as though they did not go to the beach much. Oh well. She would change that; or at least she hopped she would. Either way, they were not going anywhere that day. So without further ado, Azama walked in; just as happy as they had all been to see her, and led the two Nohrian royalty to their room for the time being 

~’~

The trip to the Hoshidan coast was faster than she had been expecting. She was lucky as well. With how warm the country was, her leg barely ached. Leo took note considering she was often found in the castle back in Nohr just sitting on the ground rubbing out the aches. That had always been a sore point for Xander. While she did not care much, the king felt the burden heavy on his heart. All of his siblings would find him in the library or in his office just sitting there in silence.

“This country really is beautiful. It reminds me of my own world.” _____ said upon the horse. That was another thing when she came to Nohr with Xander and Elise. She was taught how to ride a horse considering all Royalty knew how to. 

“It is. Though I do enjoy the snow at home.” Leo said with laughter in his voice.

“Oh do I know.” They both laughed. Up ahead of them in the sky, Hinoka swooped down on her Pegasus and landed gently in the sand. Everyone else came up behind her. Considering there was nothing like a “bathing suit” that she would have worn in her own world, _____ had to opt out in simple light cloth leggings and a similarly light tunic. 

“Now is that slab of wood the board?” She heard Ryouma ask as they all dismounted from their horses.

“Yep! Now I’ll see you guys later.” Without another word she rushed off towards the water. Luckily it seemed as though there was some good waves for surfing which she immediately took advantage off. 

Just like home. She thought to herself as she cut through the water with ease. There were some bonuses for having known the king of Hoshido and his family. They all knew that she was not royalty from birth, nor did she have that upbringing. They would not shame her for her personality; nor her leg. Which was something else she enjoyed about Hoshido. The cold water, if she accidently got into any in Nohr, burned her skin where the prosthetic met it. The warm waters of Hoshido worked perfectly with it all.

“That is crazy! So that is what surfing is?” Sakura’s soft voice could be heard from all the way out where _____ was. It caused a smile to form over her face. That was the loudest she had heard Sakura speak since getting to Hoshido. After surfing for a bit longer, she swam back to the shore and walked out, completely water logged and looking a bit like a wet dog. Hinoka, Azura, and Corrin had found their way into the water wading about. Sakura on the other hand was shyly still sitting next to her oldest brother. However her eyes were sharper than she let on. She was watching _____ the entire time. 

“You are not going into the water Sakura?” The youngest princess jumped at the sound of the queen’s voice. 

“Ah no. I think I will stay here.” Ryouma and _____ shared a look.

“Come with me.” 

“Wait!” With an unsuccessful attempt of shaking the bigger woman off, Sakura followed behind her towards the water’s edge. Yet something surprising happened. She thought they would got into the water but the new Nohrian queen just sat down with her feet getting wet. It was a hesitant move, but Sakura eventually followed suit. Silence flowed between them just as much as the water did.

“Look.” Her voice broke the silence. Sakura watched her reach down and grab something from underneath the water. It was soft and about the size of _____’s hand which was saying something considering she was a tall woman. The surface looked like a rainbow oil spill. 

“What is it?” Sakura asked.

In response she placed the thing into her hand and allowed Sakura to feel the weight. “It is a shell. It is like armor; like your brother wears into battle.” Light. Sakura’s eyes lit up. It hurt a bit, thinking that the only way the young girl would understand what a thing was was to compare it to something to do with war. But that, it seemed, was the way of this world. It got the message across so Sakura suddenly jumped up and started to rush down the shore. Every few minutes she would come back with a handful of shells and rocks and pieces of driftwood and ask _____ to identify it.

“She is a brilliant woman.” Ryouma said, sitting back with the men. Leo chuckled at that on the other side of the king. “When we were all in Askr, _____ brought people together. There were so many clashing personalities and people of all classes yet peace came so easily to her.”

“I bet. Xander is just like a love struck hummingbird, fluttering about every time he sees her.” Ryouma nodded. All the while, Takumi looked utterly confused. He would have to spend more time with her. Though he could admit that seeing Sakura so happy and out of her shell was a thousand plusses in the positive column already. He loved his family more than anything in the world and if she could get Sakura looking that exuberant, than she could not be all that bad.

“I must admit that if Xander had not gotten to her first, I may have asked for her hand in marriage.” Now that was surprising to both younger men. However they had not seen how she and Ryouma had gotten during the time they were in Askr considering she never had the luck to summon either Leo or Takumi. Well Takumi would just have to speak to Ryouma about it later. He was not going to talk about something like that around Leo and the sun was falling in the sky. 

~’~

“I’m sorry that you are having to guide my horse Leo.” _____ sighed. After spending quite some time with Sakura, she had gone back in for a bit more surfing in the sunset. However that proved to be rather painful for she had fallen off her board, nothing wrong with that. Though this was closer to the shore and her leg got caught in some coral. It shattered a chunk of the wooden surface and made it unable to bend at the knee. Therefore she had to have Leo walk her horse along as they made their way to the inn they would be staying at for their time on the coast. 

“It is alright. Though I cannot say Xander will be very pleased with you.” That caused _____ to spit out her tongue in an act of petulance.

“He doesn’t have to know if we don’t tell him and I fix it before we get back.” Leo had to nod. It was true. What he did not know would not hurt him. 

The group finally made it to the inn where their horses were taken for the night. Their rooms were quickly shown to them and they were all told dinner would be served soon. For the time being, they were shown to the courtyard in the middle of the building. The younger siblings were all talking animatedly to each other about the day’s events.

“I truly hope that you will be happy in this world.” Ryouma’s sudden voice caused her to turn to her side. She had been standing off to the side, watching the others.

“That is very kind of you. I don’t doubt I will adore it here.” She muttered under her breath. And she was not lying. This was a chance for her to start over, to start fresh. This was a new life in a new world. Ryouma’s hand on her shoulder felt grounding with the sudden wave of emotions that crashed over her. “Thank you though. You are part of the reason why I am sure I can be happy now. Xander and you and everyone else; I think things are going to start looking up.”

And she was right. With her knowledge that far surpassed those of the time, _____ was able to help usher in a new era of technology. With Hoshido and Nohr at peace, they shared in the technological advancements and were able to prosper far beyond their wildest dreams. During that, she found out what true love felt like through Xander. The King of Nohr treated her with respect and kindness and love; more so than she perhaps ever experienced before. 

It was a dream come true. 


End file.
